Ismail Sabri, Malaysia's new prime minister and the path of the Umno party's return

Ismail Sabri Yakob was sworn in as Malaysia's ninth prime minister and third since the 2018 elections after the appointment of Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah by royal order.

Ismail Sabri's rise to become Prime Minister has made the UMNO party. regained supremacy without requiring new elections After losing a majority of seats in the House of Assembly for 60 years in 2018, the OneMDB corruption scandal

Malaysians are facing hardships with economic turmoil. from the spread of COVID-19 More than 1.5 million Malaysians have been infected with nearly 14,000 deaths, a problem that has shaken the government of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, until he announced his resignation.

last weekend Malaysia has a new prime minister When the monarch appointed Ismail Zabri Jakob, who received 114 votes, more than half of the 220 members of the House of Representatives, he replaced Muhyiddin Yassin. Phenomenon of the ruling coalition (Perikatan Nasional-PN) falling apart and lacking support in the House of Commons until having to resign from the position Amid allegations of mismanagement of COVID-19, it failed to respond to people's urgent needs.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri, 61, is a former lawyer from Pahang. who turned into a political path One of the most respected elders in Malaysian politics for a long time. Through the heat and cold since 1987, or more than 34 years ago, in 2018, he became the deputy chairman of the long-standing political party. like the National Organization of Malay Party or the Umno party

In the past, Ismail Zabri has served as a minister overseeing several ministries, including the Ministry of Sports and Youth. during the government of former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in 2008 before becoming ministers for the Ministry of Internal Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Local Development. During the Najib Razak government and during the government of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, he became the leader of the opposition party. And has returned to the government again in the government of Muhyiddin Yassin as a senior minister with the Ministry of Defense overseeing security affairs. and was recently appointed as Deputy Prime Minister last July.

The path back to power of the UMNO Party

The story of sawing the legs of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and returning to the government of the UMNO party this time can be explained by a simple mathematical formula. With Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri at the time already firmly backed by 100 MPs, it was not difficult to get 11 more votes to form half of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) of 220 seats. just have to convince The 15-member UMNO party led by chairman Ahmad Zahid Ibrahim has decided to switch sides to withdraw support for Muhyiddin Yassin's Bhumibol Adulyadej party. Dream rival Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the People's Justice Party again.

In the past, the Umno party The largest political party in Malaysia Malaysia's monopoly has been in power since independence for more than 61 years, before a corruption scandal during the government of former prime minister Najib Razak forced him to step down mid-term. Then, for the first time, UMNO was defeated in the 14th general election, and the victory fell to Pakatan Harapan, the main opposition coalition led by 93-year-old Mahathir Mohamad.

For the UMNO party That was the worst performance in the history of the 13-party coalition, known as the National Front, or BN, forcing UMNO to exit government.

UMNO's return to government this time was not unexpected. UMNO is a conservative political party that focuses primarily on the protection of Malaysian culture and Islam. and has a policy to promote the business of Malay Muslims Return of the UMNO Party As a result, from now on, many parties have to turn their attention to ethnic policies. and how racial diversity will proceed

As experts warn UMNO's party lost an election because of corruption. but easily returned to run the country without an election This made this time very vulnerable to the dissatisfaction of the Malaysian people.

Challenges of Malaysian Leaders

Ismail Sabri's entry into the prime minister's office at this time is considered a heated chair. Among the challenges in managing the COVID-19 problem Malaysia is now one of the countries with the highest infection rates. And the average death per population is the highest in the world. Despite being in a seven-month state of emergency and lockdown since June, the number of daily infections doubled from June to 23,564 in New Highs on Friday, Aug. 20. NS.

So far, more than 1.5 million Malaysians have been infected and nearly 14,000 have died.

Especially in the past few months, Mr. Ismail Sabri as Deputy Prime Minister. will be the person who sits out and makes daily statements by himself about the covid situation This has made him seen as one of those responsible for the mistakes of the Muhyiddin government. Yassin believes the opposition will continue to attack him on the matter.

In addition, experts believe that a new cabinet round for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri will not touch much. The key ministers are expected to remain the same, with slight changes. While earlier, His Majesty the King gave a speech on the management of COVID-19 policies. Everything proceeded smoothly without interruption. both management vaccination project including a plan to rehabilitate people from COVID-19

still have to take care of the shaky problems of those MPs in the ruling party And believe that Malaysian political problems will still be a series that is not yet over. As it appears, the government is no more stable than Muhyiddin Yassin's government, with three of the 114 members of Baab Ismail Sabri's elected representative, also a hope for the opposition. Think of the opportunity to overthrow the government and form a new government in the future. Including the opportunity to retaliate against the government's confidence debate that will be held soon. This is according to the words of His Majesty the King.