PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob received a thumbs-up from government backbenchers for his sterling performance in his first 100 days in office and hoped he would be allowed to remain in office until 2023.

Some 18 government backbenchers this evening pledged their support for Ismail after he showed his capability in steering the country’s economy as well as bringing down the number of Covid-19 infections.

Leading the group at a press conference in Parliament this evening was government backbenchers chairman Tajuddin Abdul Rahman who said that Ismail, who is also the Bera lawmaker, has the support of members of Parliament from various backgrounds.

“All of us here, the government backbenchers who come from various political backgrounds, are supporting Ismail as prime minister,” Tajuddin said.

“We give full support for his leadership. Under his leadership, Ismail has lifted the economy, more than 500,000 job opportunities have been created since he took over Putrajaya and Covid-19 cases have dropped tremendously.

“For the past 100 days we have seen nothing but success under his Keluarga Malaysia campaign and we hope he will continue to lead the country until the end of his term in 2023,” said the Pasir Salak MP.

Over the weekend, Ismail who is also Umno vice-president, urged his party to continue to support him as prime minister to enable him to focus on resolving economic and health issues facing the people.

Ismail was appointed prime minister on August 21, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin who lost the majority support of lawmakers in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said although the number of Covid-19 cases has dropped and the country’s economy is seen to be recovering, the task is not completed yet.

Ismail also urged Umno to return to the basics of the party’s struggle in uniting the Malay and Muslim communities to ensure the party’s victory in the next general election.

Backing Tajuddin was another Umno MP, Nazri Aziz from Padang Rengas who made it clear that he wanted Ismail to stay on until the end of his term.

“We have responsibilities as MPs which is to serve the people. We must work to solve the plight of the people,” Nazri said.

“After passing the amendment to restore the position of Sabah and Sarawak, we will pass Undi18 and allow automatic registration and not forget the anti-party hopping law.

“If the term is five years, let the government finish its job in five years, in this case, until 2023.”

Talks of Putrajaya calling for an earlier general election gained momentum after Umno’s victory in Malacca last month.

Many have urged the government led by Ismail to go ahead with national polls where they said it is a chance for Umno to regain its position after their defeat in the last election.

Meanwhile, PAS representative Khairuddin Aman Razali who spoke on behalf of his party, agreed with both Tajuddin and Nazri.

“PAS is giving its full support for Ismail to lead the country, especially under Keluarga Malaysia, which has proven to be a success,” he said briefly.

The press conference today was attended by all MPs on the government bloc, including independents. – December 14, 2021.