Govt's Keluarga Malaysia approach paved way for nation's recovery - Ismail Sabri

In a special announcement on the dissolution of the 14th Parliament today, Ismail Sabri said the Keluarga Malaysia (the Malaysian Family) spirit introduced in his administration, based on inclusion, togetherness and gratitude, had been translated through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability signed between the government and opposition.

"Through this solidarity, the government successfully managed to implement significant transformations," he said, among them several amendments to the Federal Constitution, including the prohibition of Members of Parliament from switching parties, amendments pertaining to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) as well as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act.

Ismail Sabri said the period of the 14th Parliament brought gloom to the country's political landscape as, for the first time in the history of the nation, there was a change of prime minister as well of governments thrice in the same term.

"This had a negative impact on the sociopolitical and economic situation. Nevertheless, the endless bickering among political players was prevented from worsening further by bringing them to the negotiation table to quell the situation," he said.

ISMAIL SABRI-PARLIAMENT (ACHIEVEMENTS) 2 KUALA LUMPUR

Ismail Sabri said despite being faced with various challenges, attacks and slander, the government he led could still be relied on to cope with trials and tribulations in the struggle to steer the nation to the path of health, political and economic recovery.

He said his government was a responsible one and had always handled planned matters carefully.

"When the country was faced with a health crisis, for instance, the government put the interests of Keluarga Malaysia above everything else," Ismail Sabri, who took over the administration at a time when the country was struggling in its battle with COVID-19, said.

He said Malaysia entered the transition to endemic phase on April 1, which enabled national borders to be reopened after over two years, adding that Malaysia was also recognised as the best Southeast Asian country in handling the pandemic's challenges.

The pandemic hit the country in early 2020 and caused the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to contract by 5.5 per cent, but the government, through responsive and proactive measures managed to bring the country out of an economic crisis, he said.

ISMAIL SABRI-PARLIAMENT (ACHIEVEMENTS) 3 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR

More recently, he said, the World Bank revised the country's GDP forecast for 2022 to 6.4 per cent, compared to the 5.5 per cent projected last March.

Ismail Sabri was also grateful that out of 163 nations, Malaysia was recognised as the 18th most peaceful country in the world based on the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2022, which was Malaysia's best achievement since the GPI was introduced in 2008.

He said within just a year, the Keluarga Malaysia government raised the labour market to full employment, with the unemployment rate falling for 12 consecutive months, from 4.8 per cent in July 2021 to 3.7 per cent in July 2022.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) also increased significantly, and in the first six months of this year alone, Malaysia secured RM47.4 billion in FDIs compared to the whole of last year when it only managed RM48.1 billion.

Total trade also increased by 33.1 percent to RM1.87 trillion for the period January-August 2022, compared to RM1.41 trillion in the previous year.

"Investor confidence in Malaysia did not just increase overnight, instead it was driven by the government's proactive measures that implemented investor-friendly policies," Ismail Sabri said.

The UMNO vice-president also expressed his gratitude to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and all the Malay Rulers for consenting to his appointment as the 9th Prime Minister at a time the country was facing tough challenges.

He also thanked all members of Keluarga Malaysia for supporting him in fulfilling his trust and responsibility as head of government.