PRIME Minister Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yassin has today appointed Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as deputy premier with immediate effect.
“The appointment will help the Prime Minister manage the country and fulfil the people’s needs in a situation where the country is facing a health and economic crisis,” said a statement issued by the PMO on Wednesday (July 7).
The PMO also announced the appointment of Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as Senior Minister (Foreign).
As Senior Minister, Hishammuddin will also lead the security cluster which was previously led by Ismail Sabri.
“The Prime Minister has also agreed for Hishammuddin to assist him (Ismail Sabri) in the implementation of the National Recovery Plan,” the PMO announced.
“It is hoped that both appointments will boost the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Government’s ability, especially in facing the COVID-19 pandemic, and to strengthen unity and cooperation among parties that form the government.
“Moreover, it is also hoped that the appointments will solidify the PN Government with transparency and integrity in its administration while freeing it from elements of corruption,” the statement read.
It is widely believed that the Prime Minister’s decision to promote Ismail Sabri and Hishammuddin is to stop an alleged plan by UMNO’s top leadership to withdraw support for the PN Government.
It is still unclear what this means for UMNO given that the party plans to sever ties with the PN Government. The imbalance of power that resulted from the reshuffle in the Cabinet (and not missing the fact that both men are from UMNO) have yet to be commented on.
To recap, UMNO has a total of 38 MPs, making it a single party with the largest number of parliamentarians in the PN administration which has thus put the Government at a perilous position.
It was previously learned that several UMNO MPs, including several members in the Mahiaddin’s administration, are against the plan to cut ties with PN. – July 7, 2021.