Malaysian King has confirmed that Ismail Sabri will become Malaysia 9th Prime Minister
The Istana Negara (National Palace) has confirmed that the Bera MP, Ismail Sabri will be Malaysia’s 9th Prime Minister.
The swearing-in ceremony is slated to be held tomorrow (21 August 2021) at 2.30pm.
However, the large swats of the Malaysian internet reacted with #kerajaangagal (failed government / government failure) upon hearing the news of the appointment.
Ismail Sabri belongs to UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which lost the last election for the first time in Malaysia’s history to the Opposition, led by Mahathir Mohamed and Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat or PKR (People’s Justice Party).
This appointment has led to accusation of the death to Malaysian democracy and that the people choice is not being respected.
Pakatan Harapan, the Opposition political coalition defeated the incumbent BN in 2018’s Malaysian General Election that captures the imagination of watchers from around the world. Many heralded this as the advent of a new era in Malaysian politics; many others within Malaysian became really hopeful for a new path for the country, away from the hegemonic and corruptive way that UMNO and BN’s government had became more and more associated with.
However, with Mahathir playing his own political chess and games, his unwillingness to follow through with his promise to relinquish the Prime Minister seat to his political partner and long time nemesis, Anwar Ibrahim – led to the collapse of the entire coalition.
Mahathir outplayed in his own game, resigned as Prime Minister after defections deprived Pakatan Harapan their majority in Parliament.
The COVID-19 pandemic continue to wreck havoc on the political process, as the General Elections is not able to be held due to health and safety concern, something that has proven to be the right decision given how bad the pandemic situation is today.
The inability to have proper seating in Parliament and holding of an election meant that no one really know what are all the MPs’ allegiance were. Political jostling and changes in allegiance had become so often that most Malaysians no longer know what is happening. Which is also why, it wasn’t exactly clear who would be the next Prime Minister when Muhyiddin Yassin resigned from the Prime Ministership.
With the Malaysian National Day just last than 2 weeks away on the 31st of August – Malaysians watching the political drama unfold and in deep thoughts about the state of their democracy; how did they end up with a Prime Minister from the political party/coalition they voted out just 3 years ago.
From a certain perspective, Muhyiddin is the saddest Prime Minister in the history of Malaysian politics. He took power in just as Malaysia falls into the pandemic, and he had to lead the fight against the virus making countless difficult and politically expensive decisions. Despite all his efforts, his political rivals just can’t give him a break, while the Rakyat (citizens) reeling from lockdown exhaustion, no longer adhering to the pandemic restrictions to strict obedience. The delta variant came and pushed infections rate to new heights, destroying his conviction and self-belief.
It is not clear how the new Prime Minister will be able to fight the pandemic and it’s fallout – they do not have the mandate of the people and will likely to face countless obstacle until the next General Election.