PM says focused on running the country, not distracted by politics

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says he is not distracted by party and political matters, but remains focused on running the country.

"As for me, I have my own work in both the party and government. Party members are free to give their opinions but that doesn’t distract me.

"If I was distracted, we would not have achieved an 8.9% GDP growth in the second quarter, we wouldn’t have been able to reduce unemployment from 4.3 to 3.8%, and our trade figures wouldn’t have surpassed RM2 trillion," he said.

He said this when asked if he felt that his administration was being distracted from its day-to-day tasks and ignoring the possibility of a poor global economic outlook next year. He was also asked if he felt he was being pushed around, especially in light of the statements made by fellow party members, including Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who has been calling for the general election held as quickly as possible.
 
Ismail said everyone in his party was entitled to voice their opinion, including the president.

"Everyone makes statements and our party celebrates diversity in opinions," he said during a question-and-answer session with several foreign correspondents and Bernama in Putrajaya yesterday.

"I respect the views made by the party president, deputy president, vice-president and other leaders in the party. However, final decisions will be made by the top five leaders in the party," he said.

On whether he would vie for the post of party president in accordance with the norm in Umno that the party president becomes the prime minister, he said his focus now was to help the party win the election.

"If the party loses, there’s no point in contesting for any position. When the time comes, I will think about it," he said.

Ismail also pointed out that in other nations, the president or the prime minister is not necessarily the leader of the party, as is the case in Indonesia where Joko Widodo is an ordinary member of Parti Demokratik Indonesia-Perjuangan and the president is Megawati. He said the same applied for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"This situation is not strange in other nations. Maybe in Malaysia this appears odd as it has happened for the first time.

"As for me, I am the prime minister, I am the party’s vice-president, and though I’m not the party president, I still want to see the party win and form the government."

On whether the big corruption scandals in the country had given the nation a bad image, he said: "True, the corruption problem could affect the country’s image if it continues. It will also deter investors from coming to the country.

"What is important is the actions taken by the government to tackle this problem. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has the power to take action. If you observe the corruption cases taken to court, no one is spared regardless of their position."

He added that procedures involving procurement would continue to be tightened.

As long as the government is committed to acting against corruption, other nations and foreign investors will be confident, he said.

In addition to the 1MDB scandal that saw losses of up to RM50 billion, Malaysia is also facing the mega corruption scandal involving the procurement of littoral combat ships for the navy, where losses could reach RM9 billion.