GENEROUS and humble. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, according to his former schoolmates, still retains these traits although he is at the pinnacle of his career and has been leading the nation for a year now. 

Amiruslan Manaf, 63, who went to SM Air Putih in Kuantan, Pahang, with Ismail in 1973 and was his hostel mate as well, has fond memories of Malaysia’s ninth prime minister.

Describing him as caring and always helpful, he said Ismail was also generous in a number of ways.

“He made friends easily and was disciplined, but what I remember most about him was that he was not stingy and would always share whatever good things he had with us.

“At that time, his brother was studying at Universiti Malaya and whenever he visited our hostel, he would bring along new books, which Ismail would never fail to share with us.

“If he buys any kuih-muih or brings back some from home, he would offer them to us too, even if he only had a few pieces. He would invite whoever was present in the hostel to enjoy the treats with him,” Amiruslan said, who hails from Temerloh, Pahang.

His wife Fakhriyatie Mohd Lotfie, 63, also an ex-student of the same school, said Ismail was fondly addressed as ‘Yee’ or ‘Mail’ by his friends.

“He respects his teachers a lot. This is reflected in his conversations with his school alumni in their WhatsApp chat group… (we have heard that) he still sets aside time to visit his former teachers to find out how they are keeping.

“Ismail is still the same person he used to be… despite his busy schedule, he attended some of our reunions (when he was a minister and deputy prime minister previously). Occasionally, he would say ‘hello’ to us in our WhatsApp group,” she said.

Willing to shift political base to Bera

Ismail humbleness was evident in his daily interactions with the people he knew and the public, and during his political career, according to Umno leader Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin.

Recalling the turn of events after the delineation of electoral boundaries was completed in 2004, he said Ismail, who was then an Umno vice-president, willingly gave way to him and agreed to move his political base from Temerloh Umno division to Bera, a new division created by the party after delineation.

“We were both deputy division chiefs then. I was in Mentakab, while Ismail was in Temerloh. After the delineation, one of us had to make a sacrifice,” Sharkar said.

Sharkar is now Lanchang assemblyman and the Pahang tourism, culture, environment, plantations and commodities exco. 

Sharkar said, following delineation, Mentakab was removed as an electoral constituency. Subsequently, the then prime minister and Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi asked one of them to move to Bera, a new parliamentary constituency.  

“According to Abdullah, he couldn’t afford to lose two young people if both of us decided to remain in the same division.

“Ismail was willing to go to Bera, although he was already well-known in Temerloh then,” Sharkar said.

Ismail won the Bera Umno division chief post unopposed in 2004. The same year, he also became the first Bera MP.

Empathetic

Ismail was born into a poor family in Temerloh, his parents worked as rubber tappers to make ends meet.

He served as a lawyer before becoming active in politics, had his early education at SK Bangau in Temerloh and secondary education at SM Air Putih in Kuantan, a residential school.

Sharkar said the good relationship between him and Ismail was due to their shared interest in politics and the fact that they came from neighbouring villages: Kampung Bintang and Kampung Lubuk Kawah respectively.

He said the prime minister was also his ‘senior’ while studying at the Technical Institute of Kuantan – now known as SM Teknik Kuantan – in 1976.

Meanwhile, many of Ismail’s constituents say their MP empathises with their hardship. 

Among them is Md Ramzi Ariffin, 60, from Kampung Mengkarak. He said he received aid from Ismail soon after his house was flooded to chest level early this year.

He said Ismail constantly reminds villagers there to inform him of any problems, particularly with regard to their children’s education, because the prime minister firmly believes that education is the ticket to freeing them from the clutches of poverty.

“He always tells us the door to his office is open in case we can’t afford to buy a laptop for our children or don’t have enough money to send them to university… the important thing (for a leader) is to be sincere and help those who are really facing difficulties,” Ramzi, who is self-employed, said. 

Leader who walks the talk

Describing Ismail Sabri as bold and someone who walked the talk, economist Emeritus Prof Barjoyai Bardai likened the prime minister’s economic policies to those of former US president Ronald Reagan during the 1980s.

“Reagan was an actor before he entered politics and had no prior experience as a politician, but he had an important skill which was executing (plans and strategies) and he dared to make decisions for the long term.

“This is what Ismail Sabri is doing… (his plans) involve huge expenditures for, among others, the provision of subsidies and Keluarga Malaysia aid of RM2,500 a month for B40 families. 

“This is one of the leadership qualities our prime minister possesses. He may seem gentle and friendly to the people but once he is convinced about certain things, he will execute it without fear or favour,” he added.

Special fund for subsidies

However, Barjoyai said the government should consider creating a special fund to finance the subsidies over the long term.

“The nation’s inflation rate, which is measured by the consumer price index rose 3.4% in June… (the inflation rate is manageable) because it is protected by subsidies.

“The biggest subsidies are for petrol and diesel, for which RM35 billion is allocated, followed by sugar and cooking oil.

“We cannot continue to give subsidies over the long term. In fact, it will have an impact on the nation’s annual budget of nearly RM300 billion.

“If RM80 billion is used for subsidies, then the nation’s development will be affected,” he said, adding that this is why he is proposing that a special endowment fund be set up to take care of subsidies.

“A target of between RM200 billion to RM500 billion should be set for the fund so that it has sufficient annual returns on investment to finance the subsidy programmes.” 

Barjoyai said raising the minimum wage to RM1,500 in May was a good move but still not enough and has to be improved from time to time by taking into account the poverty rate and overall income of the people.

Malaysia’s national poverty line income is RM2,208, as such the minimum wage should be set at a higher rate starting from RM2,500, he said, adding that the government should also seek ways to enhance productivity in line with the increase in the minimum wage. – Bernama, August 19, 2022.