Lim Kit Siang says Ismail Sabri Yaakob has made a series of errors including appointing former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin as chairman of the National Recovery Council.
PETALING JAYA: A few moves that Ismail Sabri Yaakob made over the last few days could have a telling effect on his future as the nation’s ninth prime minister, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said today.
He added that while Ismail may have given his ministers 100 days to prove themselves, it is the prime minister himself who may be struggling to show his worth after having appointed his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin as chairman of the National Recovery Council (NRC).
“To add to his litany of errors, Ismail has unnecessarily reappointed three special envoys with ministerial status,” Lim said, calling it a waste of taxpayers’ funds especially when the nation is struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Ismail himself may not have 100 days to prove his worth especially with the re-appointment of the three special envoys namely PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (Middle East), Progressive Democratic Party president Tiong King Sing (China) and SUPP deputy president Richard Riot (East Asia).
“But the most shocking thing is the appointment of the failed former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin as chairman of the NRC. To add to his poor performance is his reluctance to have a vote of confidence motion in Parliament as the first item of business when it sits on Sept 14,” he said in a statement posted on his blog.
The Iskandar Puteri MP added that the King had clearly said before appointing Ismail as the prime minister that calling for a vote of confidence in Parliament will be the first thing he has to do.
Later when announcing his Cabinet on Aug 27, Ismail said all ministers had been given 100 days to prove their initial performance, stressing that he wanted his Cabinet to focus on having a high-performance work culture.
However, Lim noted, more than half of his “recycled” Cabinet are back in their old ministries.
“Will the 17 ministers who have been given back their old portfolios be able to tell Parliament when it reconvenes in a week’s time how he or she can do differently in 100 days what they had failed to do in 17 months?
“In fact, Sept 14 may prove to be Ismail’s political Rubicon as the ninth prime minister as Malaysians may not be prepared to suspend judgement on him after that date,” he said.
