“As a fellow Malaysian and party colleague, I wish our new prime minister all the best for the sake of our beloved nation and its future,” Johari told FMT.
“I was actually hoping that the prime minister would form a bipartisan cabinet to govern during this current crisis or at least introduce some fresh young faces to inject more energy and enthusiasm,” the Umno supreme council member said. “The line-up is uninspiring. I was hoping Azalina (Azalina Othman Said) and Tok Mat ( Mohamad Hasan) would be in.”
As a result, the prime minister can expect no “honeymoon” period whatsoever, the former second finance minister warned, adding that Ismail has about a year or so before the next general election to rectify multiple failures in governance by the outgoing Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.
“Grave mistakes have led to infections soaring above 20,000 cases daily to breach the 1.5 million mark,” Johari said. “To date, more than 14,000 people have died.”
Johari added that the government must show urgency in addressing the economic and health issues facing the nation.
“On the economic front, the government must address the slowing and stagnating economic growth forecasts issued by Bank Negara, Fitch Solutions and S&P Global Ratings,” he said.
“Unemployment has climbed from 4.5% to 4.8%, with 700,000 people now unemployed and 2.1 million underemployed,” he pointed out. “Another 4 million people in the informal sector are struggling to get back to work, and average household income has dropped by 11% since 2020.”
Meanwhile, he said, the poverty rate has increased from 5.6% to 8.4%.
“More than 100,000 small and medium enterprises have ceased to operate, and there is always news of existing investors contemplating moving out of the country due to inconsistent policies,” he warned.
“Malaysia now lags behind many of its neighbouring countries, including Vietnam, which is now the biggest exporter of manufacturing products in ASEAN,” Johari pointed out. “In fact, our foreign direct investment (FDI) is the lowest in the region.”
“New investors are apprehensive about the political and economic direction of the country,” he said. “The government must work immediately to retain existing investors to preserve jobs for the rakyat and income for the country.”
Johari warned the new administration against an over-reliance on natural resources during these difficult times.
“Instead, the government must engage multinational companies as well as foreign and local investors to ensure their needs and concerns are properly addressed,” he said.
Johari also called on the prime minister and his cabinet to enhance vaccination efforts and to issue complementing policies that can help businesses re-open as soon as possible with strict and uniform SOPs (standard operating procedures).
“We must learn from the recent experiences of other countries,” he said.
“Countries such as Israel and the United Kingdom are experiencing another wave of cases despite having vaccinated more than 60% of their population,” he noted. “As a result, ICU admissions and deaths are on the rise again.”
Johari also wanted the government to draw up and implement a targeted comprehensive income assistance plan for those who have been greatly affected by lockdown policies, especially the B40 segment of the population.
“We must help put food on their tables,” Johari said.
“The prime minister and his cabinet must address this unprecedented economic and health crisis immediately to avoid its impact lingering on into the future,” he said.
“The rakyat is not looking for a prime minister who can recite prayers on live broadcast or one who is down to earth,” Johari said. “They want a prime minister who can help them get back on their feet and return to the lives they led prior to the onset of the pandemic.”