Smile, Ismail, you did good work as PM

 

From Ibrahim M Ahmad

With Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Anwar Ibrahim taking over the reins of government, much attention will be on the 10th prime minister as he shapes his Cabinet and tweaks policies to the realities of a unity government.

Whether his predecessor will play any significant role in it is anybody’s guess.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob was only ever intended as a stop-gap prime minister – the best Umno could put forward after Muhyiddin Yassin’s government collapsed in August 2021.

With former prime minister Najib Razak already convicted and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi himself facing trial for corruption, Ismail was the Malay party’s only plausible candidate for the post.

He would hardly have been the rakyat’s choice.

His response to the infamous Low Yat Plaza mobile phone theft incident in 2015 did not help.

Then rural and development minister, Ismail set up Mara digital malls across the country to give Malay IT businesses a boost, a project which quickly failed and did nothing to calm escalating racial tensions.

More recently, as senior minister for security, Ismail fronted the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and, perhaps unfairly, bore the brunt of public anger and ridicule for inexplicable policies introduced by Muhyiddin’s administration.

Little was expected of him as prime minister except to hold the fort until the general election could be held.

His appointment in August 2021 coincided with the height of political instability across the country.

Beginning with the Sheraton Move in March the previous year, Muhyiddin’s backdoor government had raised mercury levels to their upper limits, even incurring the wrath of the palace, and eventually leading to its collapse.

That was exactly when Ismail’s political savvy began to show.

Having done a deal with Perikatan Nasional (PN) to set up a new administration, Ismail deftly negotiated a ceasefire with PH, which included an agreement to push through the anti-hopping law, allowing his government breathing space to run the administration for a year or so until it was safe to conduct the 15th general election (GE15).

He may not have wowed the electorate as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) GE15 poster boy, but Ismail did have his successes as the country’s chief executive.

His experience as agriculture and agro-based industry minister (2013-2015) came in handy when the country experienced inflation and a food crisis during his tenure as prime minister.

Ismail’s response was to set Malaysia on the road to long-term food security with various measures.

He handed out 10-year tax free incentives for agricultural investments and worked with the Islamic affairs department (Jakim) to strengthen the country’s meat management system after an import cartel was uncovered in December last year.

He also encouraged youth participation in the sector and introduced the use of 5G technology in farming.

In August, he launched a RM200 million low-cost financing scheme to increase the country’s food output.

Apart from that, Ismail introduced other policies to bring some relief to the rakyat at a difficult time.

He helped control the escalating prices of food and essentials, offered discounts for PTPTN loan repayments, and made travel less burdensome by lowering highway toll rates across the country.

He even showed concern for women and children by calling for reforms to laws which presently allow marriage for underage girls.

Ismail may have had the shortest stint in office and may have shown several shortcomings, but he was by no means a hapless misfit.

While his silent work ethic and calm demeanour took him out of the public eye and made him forgettable to many, there can be no question that his collaboration with PH set the stage for Malaysia to embark on its next adventure.

Smile, Ismail. You did some good work for the country. - FMT

Ibrahim M Ahmad is an FMT reader.

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