KUALA LUMPUR: The 100-Day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family Aspirations) (AKM) initiative mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been seen as a catalyst to the successful achievement of the key performance indicators (KPI) by all ministers in his Cabinet before the deadline.

It is definitely not easy for him to monitor all the 31 ministers with a total of 108 KPI and 140 targets, but his confidence and tenacity, as well as his friendly personality, had made it possible.

Political analyst from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff said the concept of Keluarga Malaysia had given Ismail Sabri an advantage in luring the public to support his leadership and administration, which will enter its 100th day on Dec 9.

Since its introduction, the Keluarga Malaysia concept had been a hot topic of discussion as the public was hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel after the country and the whole world was badly affected by COVID-19.

"What the people remembered most is the fact that it was under his leadership that the government decided to bring the elements of normalisation by allowing interstate travel to resume on Oct 11 after the vaccination rate among the adult population in the country reached 90 per cent.

"Imagine the relief and joy of the people who, since May 10, have not been able to travel interstate to return to their hometowns and see their parents when Ismail Sabri made that announcement on Oct 10.

"That is why his reputation is very good in the eyes of the people as he was also linked to the success of the vaccination programme which had enabled the mega vaccination centre at the World Trade Centre here to cease operations on Oct 3, the same day Malaysia recorded less than 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 since July 12," he told Bernama.

The Prime Minister's decision to continue the National Recovery Plan to curb COVID-19 in the country was also proof of his concern and determination to bring the people out of the pandemic phase and enter the endemic phase.

Despite all his duties, Ismail Sabri had also managed to solve the political crisis which had been plaguing the country and caused major concern among the public, as well as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who had repeatedly urged for all political disputes and dramas to be put to an end soon.

Ismail Sabri's ability to get the opposition from Pakatan Haparan to sign a memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability with the government last September had also saved the people from having to live under political uncertainty.

"His promise to reduce the country's political heat by inking the MoU with the opposition had also won the hearts of the people as they had wanted a stable government to revive the country from the impact of COVID-19," Kamarul Zaman said.

He said Ismail Sabri's political game plan had not only also refreshed the country's political map, but was also beautifully translated in the landslide victory of Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Melaka state election on Nov 20.

Meanwhile, another political analyst cum geostrategist Dr Azmi Hassan said BN's victory in Melaka did not just reflect the support of the Malays for Ismail Sabri's party, UMNO, but for the support of the non-Malays for MCA and MIC.

"The Melaka polls saw the MCA and MIC candidates defeated their opponents from DAP. And I see this as a sign of the non-Malays' acceptance of the Keluarga Malaysia concept mooted by Ismail Sabri," he said.

Without a doubt, he said the concept of Keluarga Malaysia had played a significant role in BN's victory in Melaka as the state's population of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Chitty, Portuguese and others had been longing to enjoy life and political stability like before the 2018 general election.

The national Budget 2022 tabled by the government which allocated a sum of RM8.2 billion to benefit 9.6 million under the Keluarga Malaysia Aid also provided major relief to the people.

-- BERNAMA