Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has denied that he is waiting for Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s criminal trial to conclude before calling for the 15th general election (GE15).
“If people say that I want to drag (calling the polls until) his (Zahid) case is over, to wait until he is convicted or acquitted, how can I know as the court will decide on the case?” he pointed out.
The Umno vice-president was responding to questions on whether he would call for national polls this year or the next and on speculations that he might want to stretch making the call until Zahid’s criminal trial is concluded.
The delay was allegedly for Ismail Sabri to contest the president’s post with Zahid out of the picture and thus gain control of the party to continue on as prime minister if BN wins the election.
The prime minister was talking to the media in an interview on Wednesday at his official residence Seri Perdana in conjunction with the first anniversary of the Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia concept.
Stressing that he is on good terms with Zahid despite rumours suggesting the contrary, Ismail Sabri said he never planned to become prime minister and is not keen to make political moves so he can cling to power.
“I have never deliberated about whether I will become the prime minister again or not after the next election. If God wants to give me the opportunity to continue (as PM) after the election, then so be it. This is not a big issue for me.
“That’s why I have not been fighting (for positions) in the party. I have never spoken about this, and I think no one has ever heard me say that I am planning to make moves within the party,” he said.
The Bera MP shared that what he wants to do right now is just to do his work well.
“I have been given a responsibility, so I want to do my job. At least when I retire, people will remember my one year (in power) as a prime minister who works for the people,” he added.
Not a matter of time
Ismail Sabri said the length of his term as a prime minister is not important to him.
“To me, whether my time as PM is long or short, it doesn’t matter. It is meaningless to serve 20 years if I bring no benefit to the rakyat.
“A short term that is filled with success is better than a long one without success,” he added.
Ismail Sabri said regardless of any pressure to call for GE15, the authority to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament is in his hands.
“But what will determine whether the election is to be called this year or the next are the issues I mentioned earlier. I need to measure the impact between holding the election this year and having it in the next year,” he stressed.
Earlier during the interview, the premier told the media that there were many issues that the BN-led government needed to address before going into GE15.
Chief among them would be on economic recovery, providing jobs and addressing the minimum wage.
However, Ismail Sabri added that he is worried about holding the election next year as the global economy is expected to worsen. - Mkini
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