Parliament is calmer now thanks to MOU, says PM

 

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Dewan Rakyat sitting and general political situation was "calmer" now that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Transformation and Political Stability is in place.

In a recent interview with "senior editors", Ismail Sabri said he expected the opposition to continue playing their role by providing check and balance.

"However, despite telling them (opposition) this, there have been fewer attacks on the government in Parliament," he said, according to Bernama.

"The speeches (in Parliament) are no longer antagonistic whereas before, the standing orders had to be applied (regularly)."

He said the current situation showed that there was a growing sense of mutual respect among MPs.

The MOU between the federal government and Pakatan Harapan saw Ismail Sabri promising a long list of administration and parliamentary reforms based on strict deadlines.

In return, Harapan promised, with conditions, that they will not topple Ismail Sabri through Parliament and support his Budget 2022.

'Feel good'

Ismail Sabri said the opposition was also invited to Economic Planning Unit (EPU) briefings on the 12th Malaysia Plan - the first time ever - and the exercise has been fruitful.

"There were no interruptions, the questions were professional and not heated as all they (opposition) wanted were truthful answers," he said.

The Dewan Rakyat is currently debating the 12th Malaysia Plan - a five-year socio-economic development plan.

Ismail Sabri said his cabinet ministers will have to report what they have done within the first 100 days and he will evaluate them based on "several methods", including surveying the population.

"Overall, I will score them akin to how school report cards are done, and that is one way. We have a committee… some of those scores will come from the people, but at what percentage we have not decided… the people's views are one way," he added.

"Recently they (ministers) presented suggestions for KPI (key performance indicators) and I told them that there needs to be that feel-good factor for the people... we will wait for the ministers to announce them themselves."

Apart from the KPI, Ismail Sabri said his administration will be monitored through Key Happiness Outcome (KHO) - a system to identify and monitor public opinion.

He said the KHO, which in turn is influenced by his "Keluarga Malaysia" concept, will improve government delivery and policy implementation. - Mkini