Ismail can fend off Najib, Zahid and Azmin now, says Pua

 

Ismail Sabri Yaakob can now sidestep pressure from rivals, says DAP’s Tony Pua.

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has strengthened his position after learning from the mistakes of his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin and offering a reform pact with the opposition, says DAP’s Tony Pua.

He said Ismail chose not to emulate Muhyiddin, who had waited until he was clutching at straws before offering reform proposals to the opposition in exchange for a confidence arrangement.

“With a razor-thin majority, Ismail’s government has also decided to adopt a less adversarial approach with the opposition role in Parliament.

“In the past, even with the Muhyiddin government, it was always a ‘winner-takes-all position for the government, despite his tenuous hold on the government,” Pua said in a Facebook post tonight.

He said Ismail’s stronger position now allowed him to fend off threats or demands from the “court cluster”, which he said was led by former prime minister Najib Razak and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“On the other hand, had the memorandum of understanding not been signed, Ismail’s hand would have been weakened and he would have had to give in to the demands of the kleptocrats,” said Pua.

“More importantly, Ismail can no longer be pressured to take steps to influence judicial proceedings or the Attorney-General’s Chambers to withdraw charges pending in the court cluster, including Najib and Zahid’s corruption trials.

“More interestingly, Ismail also does not need to entertain any demands from Azmin Ali’s camp, as any threat by Azmin’s faction to destabilize the governing coalition will no longer be credible,” he said.

Pua maintained that the MoU signed with the government today was just a means to give Malaysians some peace and stability as the nation battled the pandemic and economic downturn.

He also said Malaysians would be the biggest winners from the deal as PH had successfully convinced the prime minister to agree to implement some “landmark” reforms.

“But once the Parliament gets dissolved any time after July 2022, PH will fight tooth and nail to have the people’s mandate returned to the rightful parties,” he said. - FMT