PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s cabinet line-up today showed he has limited influence in the government, analysts said. 

They also said that the line-up was also a continuation of his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin’s legacy.

They added that they were not surprised with the Bera MP’s cabinet list, branding the cabinet as Perikatan Nasional 2.0. 

This morning, Ismail announced his cabinet line-up in a live telecast maintaining almost everyone in Muhyiddin’s old cabinet and only naming a few new faces.

Tasmania University academic Prof James Chin told The Malaysian Insight that the new prime minister would have named his own line-up if he had real power. 

He added that the new cabinet was the same unstable one under Muhyiddin. 

“I have said it much earlier that I don’t expect to see much changes. The reason is because the MPs supporting him are the same as those who had backed Muhyiddin. 

“So there is no surprise. It is just a continuous government. The difference is that Bersatu is not the head of government now. 

“Clearly, the so-called cooperation with the opposition is not going to happen (with this cabinet), and the fact that he can’t shift people around shows he has no power,” said Chin.

Iman Research programme director Badrul Hisham Ismail meanwhile cynically said the political ruckus that happened last month was just a waste of time as the same faces are still in the government. 

“The ministers should not have cleaned up their offices. Now they need to put back things in the same office they cleared up just two weeks ago. 

“All these power struggles were a waste of time because at the end, the same people are back in the office,” he said. 

He said Ismail’s line-up was the same “failed government” that once administered the country for 17 months. 

“What can we expect from a failed government? Muhyiddin’s government didn’t do a good job in battling the Covid-19 outbreak, now the same people is running the country. 

“And we expect good progress from them? Surely that will not happen,” he said. 

Badrul also said Ismail would have to get his party bosses’ approval before implementing any new policies. 

“Ismail now needs the blessing from the Umno president and the Supreme Council before he can decide on a policy because he is not the number one in the party. 

“He must also consult Bersatu because if he doesn’t, there is a possibility of a revolt, just like what Umno did to Muhyiddin.” 

Meanwhile, Universiti Utara Malaysia senior lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Marthada Mohamed said Ismail Sabri’s decision to work with the same ministers was to create stability in his government. 

He said that Ismail also wanted to show Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that he now runs the show.

“By not picking members of Umno from Zahid’s camp, Ismail is sending a signal to Zahid that he runs the show. 

“He also retained the senior minister positions to create balance and stability. Those people are the same people when he was the deputy prime minister,” said the academic. 

On August 16, Muhyiddin resigned as the country’s eighth prime minister after losing his parliamentary majority following the withdrawal of support from 15 Umno MPs. 

The Bersatu president had initially refused to resign as prime minister, but his final attempt of an olive branch to the opposition failed, when all opposition parties rejected his offer of reforms in exchange for support. 

However his deputy prime minister Ismail managed to garner enough majority support – including from the rebel Umno MPs - to become the nation’s ninth prime minister. – August 27, 2021.