DR Mahathir Mohamad should not be judging Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s first term in office by using his own experience as a measure of one’s success, political observers said.

They said that Dr Mahathir’s criticism against Ismail was unfair and misplaced.

They said Ismail had been in office for only a year now, and in that time had to deal with several major issues such as political instability, the Covid-19 pandemic, and inflation.

Last week, Dr Mahathir said Ismail, who is the MP for Bera, was inexperienced and had no idea how to run the country.

“Ismail has no experience and has no ideas,” Dr Mahathir had said.

“If you are the PM, you have to have a problem-solving mind, and we have a lot of problems now—the economy, politics, social issues and foreign affairs.”

The former prime minister also said that Ismail had met with him before he was appointed prime minister, but has not since then.

Ismail became the country’s ninth prime minister, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin from Bersatu in August 2021 after the Pagoh MP lost majority support in Parliament.

He is the first Umno vice president to be chosen as PM as party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi could not be picked due to his numerous court cases.

Independent observer, Mohd Sayuti Omar said Ismail Sabri was able to bring political stability when the country needed such steadiness.

He added it was unfair for the Pejuang chairman to compare Ismail Sabri’s first year in office to his long years as prime minister.

“It was really unfair on Ismail Sabri. This is his first year and the comparison is unacceptable.

“At least in his first year, he managed to bring down the political temperature and secured stability at the national level.

“Pakatan Harapan also benefited from his premiership. The anti-party hopping law and the Undi18 law were passed during his time. Do you think Dr Mahathir would have allowed such measures to take place when he was Umno prime minister?” said Sayuti.

Sayuti added that Ismail Sabri was the second prime minister after Abdul Razak Hussein to be able to bring the opposition to the negotiation table.

“With the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Pakatan Harapan, he brought harmony when the country was battling the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Mahathir could not negotiate with the opposition like Ismail did,” he said.

Dealing with pressure

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) Dr Mazlan Ali meanwhile said Ismail was wise in handling sensitive issues, adding that he was not surprised by Dr Mahathir’s negative comments.

“It is subjective when we talk about who can manage and who can’t. Ismail Sabri is wise in some sense, when he first became the prime minister, he knew he needed the opposition to back his administration.

“He promised several reforms and did not break his promise. His track record too was good. He didn’t get involved in court cases although his party leaders were being charged.

“He reacts to an issue only when needed and doesn’t try too hard to make himself look good,” said the academic.

Hisomuddin Bakar of Ilham Centre mirrored Sayuti and Mazlan’s sentiments.

Hisomuddin said Ismail had been pressured relentlessly by his own party for early polls but stayed unshaken.

“It shows that he can deal with pressure. He was able to handle national issues and at the same time managed to quell internal party conflicts.

“Although not everything he did was perfect, in this one year, he did what he could,” he said.

Hisomuddin added that as a senior politician, Dr Mahathir could have at least given a critical assessment on Ismail.

“He can criticise but the criticism must be constructive.” – August 30, 2022.