Malaysia Family or Abah, it will be more of the same, says Kadir

 

Veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government may not be very different from that of his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Will Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Cabinet be any different from that of his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin? That is the question posed by veteran newsman A Kadir Jasin in a Facebook post.

Pointing out that “all the ministers” under Muhyiddin’s administration tasked with battling the Covid-19 pandemic were from Umno, Kadir asked whether the party vice-president would retain the same faces in his Cabinet.

“Can Umno, which failed to control Covid-19 under the Muhyiddin administration, succeed under the leadership of Ismail?” asked Kadir.

“There is already speculation that tainted and disliked characters who failed in Muhyiddin’s Cabinet will be appointed to important positions in Ismail’s Cabinet, (and) it is being said that Ismail himself will hold the finance minister’s post, as was done at the end of the Umno era.

“In any case, we have no choice but to wait and see whether the Ismail/Umno “Malaysian Family” government is better or worse than the “Abah” Muhyiddin/Bersatu government.”

In his first speech as prime minister on Sunday, Ismail suggested that all MPs should set aside their differences and work together to save the “Malaysian Family” – which he described as inclusive and able to cut across racial and religious boundaries.

Former prime minister Muhyiddin used to refer to himself as “Abah” or father, a term which drew flak then from netizens, especially after he threatened to “use the cane” (rotan) should the public not comply with government-issued SOPs.

Speaking at an event in Kedah on Monday, Ismail said the new Cabinet will be decided within this week and will be first presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah for his consent before it is announced publicly. - FMT