Challenges confronting the new PM

 

From KK Tan

The die has been cast. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, after consulting his brother Rulers, has agreed to appoint former deputy prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the 9th prime minister (PM) of Malaysia with a swearing-in ceremony today.

Whether we like it or not, we must accept and respect the decision made by the King, who is strictly following Constitutional protocol that the Bera MP had secured the support of a simple majority, based on statutory declarations (SD) of 114 MPs, which is three more than the minimum 111 MPs required

A thin majority is still a majority and the King has no choice but to appoint Ismail Sabri as the new PM based on our system of constitutional monarchy.

The earlier doubt and question raised in various reports that the leaders of Perikatan Nasional (PN, of mainly Bersatu and PAS) with 50 MPs and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) with 18 MPs only gave conditional support to Ismail Sabri, was overruled by the fact that the SDs of their MPs (apparently) did not state any such conditions.

To the critics and detractors of the new PM, I would like to ask them to be fair, respect the decision of the King based on parliamentary democracy and to give him a chance to prove himself, even though he was a senior minister and deputy prime minister in the previous administration, which seemed to have failed in managing the pandemic.

Please give the new PM a chance, as the “buck stops with him now” and he has to assume full responsibility for the outcome of his new government.

To the supporters of the new PM, I would like to ask them to temper their joy and celebrations on his success and to focus on helping him to overcome and deal with the many challenges confronting him and the country today.

As a seasoned and independent analyst, I would like to look at the big picture on the challenges confronting the new PM and how he may survive this tumultuous period in our country’s history.

The external challenges that the new PM has to deal with are basically three-fold:

– managing well and bringing to an end this terrible and devastating pandemic and turning the economy around;

– managing the high expectations of an increasingly frustrated and impatient general public, partly due to the failures of the previous PN-led administration;

– dealing with a more united opposition of at least 105 MPs, who would be expected to closely monitor and scrutinize, hopefully in a constructive manner, all the major policies, decisions and actions of the new government.

On whether he would be able to forge some kind of a “unity government” (as advised by the King and Rulers) by bringing in some key opposition leaders to the government as ministers, we would have to wait and see. This would pose another challenge for the new PM if it happens.

The internal challenges of the new PM are even more daunting, due to his slim majority in Parliament and any missteps can be “fatal” to his position as PM, as it has been for his predecessor. These challenges are basically two-fold:

– managing the possible infighting and rivalries within Umno and how he would be able to rein in those (especially MPs) who may not be so loyal to him;

– dealing with PN, especially Bersatu, which is being forced to play second fiddle now and which is expected to try to “control” the new government. The signs are already out there.

This tussle for power control and influence between Umno and Bersatu would be one of the most difficult tasks for the new PM to manage. It would be hard to please all sides and the new PM can often get himself caught in a no-win situation.

The appointment of senior or important ministers would be the first test on how he can juggle his way through to keep everyone happy.

The vote of confidence in Parliament (which could now be an on-going challenge) to confirm his majority support, would also be another hurdle for him. - FMT

KK Tan is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.