Ismail Sabri playing it safe by ditching DPM, avoids internal cracks - analysts

 

With Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob only commanding a four-seat majority in the Dewan Rakyat, ditching the deputy prime minister position was the safest bet.

Analysts say the move avoids potential friction within Bersatu and also disagreements between coalition partners.

Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, an associate professor of politics and international relations at Universiti Utara Malaysia's School of International Studies, noted that Bersatu factionalism was at play on top of competing claims from the Sarawak-based GPS.

“Bersatu had demanded the position. GPS also wants it. But it won’t be good if it creates internal politics for the government,” he said.

GPS had proposed the creation of a deputy prime minister II position for the East Malaysia coalition.

With around 22 months left until the end of the current term, Azizuddin also believes that Ismail Sabri was unlikely to appoint a new deputy prime minister in the future.

Meanwhile, Azmi Hassan, a geostrategist at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, noted that Ismail Sabri was adopting a similar strategy to what was adopted by his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin when the latter formed the government in 2020.

Muhyiddin only decided to appoint Ismail Sabri as the deputy prime minister at the tail end of his tenure in a last-ditch effort to stave off Umno’s attempt to oust him.

The move failed to placate Umno and Muhyiddin, who is the Bersatu president, was replaced with Ismail Sabri who is an Umno vice-president.

With Umno now in the driver’s seat, the deputy prime minister position, if any, was expected to be filled by Bersatu.

“There were two to three names from Bersatu. But whoever is chosen, it would cause problems for Ismail Sabri,” Azmi said.

“So it would be better to do without it for the time being,” he added.

Among the Bersatu names that have been floated around as potential candidates for the deputy prime minister positions include Azmin Ali, Hamzah Zainuddin and Mohd Redzuan Mohd Yusof,

The three represented three different factions, with Azmin leading the group that defected from PKR, Hamzah as the head of those who defected from Umno while Mohd Redzuan is part of the original group of Bersatu members.

“Ismail Sabri is playing it safe,” said political analyst Anbumani Balan.

“It’s better to wait until the government is stable first,” he added.

Anbumani said with the new cabinet largely resembling the previous Muhyiddin cabinet, it was no surprise that the former prime minister still has considerable influence even though he is no longer in the government.

PSM deputy president S Arutchelvan said Ismail Sabri was learning from Muhyiddin, who also faced the issue of a slim majority.

However, he said Ismail Sabri playing it safe also led to the appointment of an uninspiring cabinet, many of whom were part of the government when Malaysia spiralled from one of the best-performing countries in the battle against Covid-19 to one of the worst.

“Playing it safe is the only excuse for considering a cabinet that is unable to shine,” he said. - Mkini