THE incoming prime minister must be someone with a good international image, is aware of economic know-hows, and commands the respect of civil servants, said Tengku Azlan Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar.
 
Tengku Azlan, who is the uncle to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, added that the new man at the helm must also be clean of corruption and personal scandals.
 
“My personal wish is that the (new) prime minister has a good international image, has no personal scandals or corruption charges, understands the economy, and the most important, to have the respect of the civil servants,” he said in a statement today.
 
He said that a prime minister with such traits can carry out the reforms that this nation needs.
 
The former three-term Jerantut member of parliament also said he was confident that the Agong will make a decision on the new prime minister as soon as he confers with the Malay rulers on Friday.
 
“I am sure that the Agong and the Malay rulers will appoint someone who is capable and understands the current scenario in the country,” he said.
 
Early last week Tengku Azlan returned to Umno following his resignation as Temerloh Bersatu chief, saying that Umno is the right party to champion Malay and Islamic rights.
 
Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as prime minister on Monday after losing his thin majority in Parliament following the withdrawal of support from 15 Umno lawmakers led by its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
 
22 other Umno MPs however remained in support of Muhyiddin. One Umno seat is vacant following the death of its incumbent last November.
 
Last night, Umno agreed that all its MPs would nominate its vice president Ismail Sabri Yaakob for the prime ministerial position.
 
MPs must sign statutory declarations to indicate their choice of prime minister and inform the palace by 4pm today.
 
Recent reports say that Ismail has the support of 115 MPs, including lawmakers from BN, GPS and PAS. – August 18, 2021.