A leader inspires. A leader galvanises the very best a nation has to offer, to achieve the impossible.
John F. Kennedy was one such leader. A genuine war hero, Kennedy commanded the patrol boat PT-109 and wreaked havoc on enemy shipping in the Solomon Islands during World War II.
His winning the 1960 presidential race and becoming the 35th president of the United States ushered in an era of hope and promise, of optimism and imagination, so much so that it was referred to as ‘Camelot’.
And then, we have Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Today marks his first full year in office. As the ninth prime minister of Malaysia, Ismail’s run has hardly been stellar.
To be fair, he inherited a fragmented nation, a country in disarray, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and political in-fighting. His predecessor, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin – and his bloated and morbidly obese cabinet – fared no better.
Muhyiddin’s cabinet, with about 70 ministers and deputy ministers, exemplified the gross excesses and wanton wastage of public funds. It struck a raw nerve with a struggling population suffering from cuts in the job market, the rising cost of living, and the overall fragility and uncertainty of life.
So, when Muhyiddin’s house of cards crumbled on Aug 16, 2021, and Ismail took over, the public was more than sceptical. After all, the two men were cut from the same Umno cloth.
Ismail’s initial public pronouncements of a one, big, happy ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ did little to assuage a Covid-weary and increasingly frustrated public who knew that his hold on power would be just as tenuous as his predecessor’s – held together through deals, negotiations, IOUs and promises.
And when Ismail finally revealed his cabinet line-up, the nation heaved a collective sigh of resigned despair as it comprised the same old, tired faces.
By November 2021, prices of essential items began to inch upwards. On Nov 15, the cost of building materials began edging up, driving up the prices of homes and affecting the construction sector. On Dec 1, the price of a loaf of Gardenia bread shot up by 45 sen.
Next to go up were the prices of vegetables – broccoli that used to go for RM8 shot up to RM20 a kilo, and bok choy went up threefold – from RM3 to RM9 a kilo. Others followed suit.
Other essentials also registered a hike in prices – onions, eggs, chickens, and cooking oil. And still, Ismail and his cabinet twiddled their thumbs.
Things came to a head in May 2022, as there was an acute shortage of chickens in the country.
This resulted in prices hitting an all-time high of RM11 a kilo for a bird. No one was clucking. The price of cooking oil also doubled, to RM49 for a 5kg bottle. It was getting harder to feed families.
The most that Ismail could come up with was to form a committee to look into the problem, with the most preposterous and ludicrous-sounding name ever in this nation’s proud, 65-year history – Pasukan Khas Jihad Tangani Inflasi.
So far, it has managed to reduce the price of cooking oil by 10 per cent. And after more than a month, this ‘flying squad’ still has not figured out the ceiling price for chickens.
The ringgit continues its downward spiral. Last December, it was hovering at RM4.23 to the US dollar. Today, it is at RM4.46 to the greenback.
The cost of servicing loans has also gone up. On May 11, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) raised the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points, to two per cent. It did the same again on July 6, raising it to 2.25 per cent. There is talk of raising the OPR yet again to stem the rising cost of inflation.
In all this, Ismail continues to show that he and his cabinet ministers lack the imagination to tackle the problems on multiple fronts. He comes off as being completely disinterested, lethargic, and gives the impression that he’d rather be somewhere else, instead of running the country. This is a reactive, and not a proactive leader.
His recent announcement that a drag strip would be built in every one of the 14 states that make up the Federation is another example of Ismail’s inability to grasp the concept of prudent fiscal policies.
No doubt, the intention is possibly to deal with the Mat Rempit menace by providing them with a safe, controlled environment with which to kill themselves. But no self-respecting Mat Rempit would be caught dead (pardon the pun) racing on a drag strip. Where’s the fun in that? Another white elephant in the making.
Of course, there were some high points in Ismail’s administration, but they are too few and far in between. One of them was the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill, 2021, which had been pushed for by women’s groups for more than 30 years. It was finally tabled under Ismail’s watch, albeit not without a little drama.
Ismail’s other ‘claim to fame’ is the Anti-Party-Hopping Act, which was passed last month, after several delays. It has been in the works since September. While Ismail can indulge in some chest-thumping and say that both these watershed legislations were passed under his watch, his footprints on them are partial, at best.
Ismail continues to demonstrate a profound lack of inspired leadership, vision, and empathy for the suffering of the public. Either that, or he is completely unaware of the ‘optics’ that colour the people’s perception of him, parading time and again in his grotesquely expensive, garishly hideous designer shirts, while his people sometimes have to depend on handouts and the generosity of strangers to survive.
His words ring hollow, like that of a lame duck premier. His assurances are met with disdain and contempt.
But the most telling evidence of Ismail’s stature as a prime minister lies in a photograph taken in March this year at the Umno General Assembly.
A wide, red carpet frames the picture. At the centre are two of Umno’s supremos, strongmen, warrior elites, men burning with the Malay fighting spirit mixed with a spattering of Bugis and Javanese, men with corruption cases looming over their heads – Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
On Zahid’s right, is his deputy, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, still on the red carpet. And off to Mohamad’s right, cutting a lone, forlorn figure, almost nudged out of the photo, and on the cold, tiled floor, is the ninth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Such is the ‘respect’ accorded to Umno’s ‘poster boy’ who is expected to help the party retake Putrajaya in the next general election.
