KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — A role as economic adviser with ministerial status appears to be on the horizon for former Prime Minister Najib Razak, in what seems to be a last minute bid by newly appointed premier Ismail Sabri Yaakob to hold on to his small majority, according to a report by The Straits Times (ST).

Datuk Seri Najib, whose administration saw the last of the Barisan Nasional coalition after six decades of rule when Pakatan Harapan took over after the 2018 General Election, was embroiled in the global scandal involving monies from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Notwithstanding his conviction on corruption and money laundering charges related to 1MDB, Datuk Seri Najib nonetheless has been active in the political spotlight, saying that he has “discussed” with Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri some of “many suggestions, steps, and new approaches to fight COVID, increase the confidence of the people, and to help the economy recover”.

“God-willing, they will have the approval of the ninth PM and Cabinet to be carried out in the near future,” said the former finance minister in a Facebook post on Thursday (9 Sep).

Similarly, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said that he and Datuk Seri Najib had discussed “domestic and international economic challenges (the government is facing) and strategies to battle the COVID-19 pandemic”.

“(Datuk Seri Najib) is committed in channelling his energy, time, and ideas to (work) together as a team for our beloved Malaysian Family,” said the PM in a Facebook post on Tuesday (7 Sep).

 

Earlier on Saturday (4 Sep), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri appointed his immediate predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin to head the COVID-19 National Recovery Council, with privileges equivalent to that of a minister.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin, the president of Bersatu which he co-founded with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, currently leads the Perikatan Nasional coalition. The coalition’s members make up almost half of the government’s Members of Parliament.

Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan, who is facing corruption charges, was recently nominated without contest as deputy speaker of Parliament.

Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri has recently come under fire from opposition politician Lim Kit Siang for disregarding the need for a confidence vote.

The former Democratic Action Party secretary-general last Saturday highlighted that both the third Prime Minister, Hussein Onn, and the fifth Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sought a vote of confidence from the majority of MPs as part of their first moves in Parliament.

“Why is Ismail Sabri afraid to prove that he has the confidence of the majority of MPs when Parliament meets on September 14, 2021?

“Is Ismail Sabri afraid that his majority of 114 MPs has disappeared in less than a month and that he could not get a majority of at least 111 Members of Parliament to vote in support of a vote of confidence in him as Prime Minister when Parliament meets on Sep 14?” Mr Lim questioned.

In a later statement on Monday (6 Sep), Mr Lim reiterated his criticism of the new PM, stating that the latter “has changed from enhancing to jeopardising the possibility of a political breakthrough in Parliament”.

The breakthrough, he said, could take place in the form of a “confidence-supply-reform accord” between the government and the opposition, ushering a political ceasefire for the next 12 to 18 months until the next General Election.

This is so that “everyone, whether government, opposition or the people, can focus single-mindedly on winning the losing war against the COVID-19 pandemic while carrying out parliamentary and institutional reforms”, Mr Lim said.

“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong had decreed on August 18 that the new prime minister must seek a vote of confidence in Parliament as soon as possible to determine his legitimacy, that MPs should work together to focus on the COVID-19 response and economic recovery, and that ‘the winner does not win everything while the loser does not lose everything’.

“It would be most unfortunate that it is the new Prime Minister who is jeopardising the government and the opposition reaching a confidence-supply-reform understanding in accordance with the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he added.

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