Ismail Sabri not distracted by party and politics, remains focused on running the country

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday said he is not distracted by party and politics, and remains focused on running the country.

"No, I don't. As for me I have my own work in both party and government. Party members are free to give their opinions but that doesn't distract me.

"If I'm distracted, definitely we will not have achieved 8.9 percent GDP growth in the second quarter, we wouldn't have been able to reduce unemployment from 4.3 to 3.8 percent, and our trade figures wouldn't have surpassed RM2 trillion," he said.

Ismail Sabri said this when asked if he felt his administration is being distracted from the day to day tasks and is ignoring the possibility of a poor global economic outlook next year looking at so many things going on in his party (UMNO) and government. He was also asked if he felt being pushed around especially looking at the statements made by fellow party members, including party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who wants the general election held soonest.

Ismail Sabri said everyone in his party (UMNO) is entitled to voice his/her opinion including the president.

"All make statements and our party celebrates diversity in opinions," he said during a question and answer session with several foreign correspondents and Bernama here, Monday.

"I respect the views made by the party president, deputy president, vice president and other leaders in the party. However, whatever final decision will be made by the top five leaders in the party," he said.

On the question whether he will vie for the party president's post as the norm in UMNO is that the party president becomes the prime minister, he replied his focus now is to help the party win the election.

"If the party loses, there's no point in contesting for any position. When the time comes, I will think about it," he said.

Ismail Sabri also pointed out in other nations the president or the prime minister is not necessarily the leader of the party like seen in Indonesia, where Joko Widodo who is just an ordinary member of the Parti Demokratik Indonesia-Perjuangan and the president is Megawati. The same with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"This situation is not strange in other nations. Maybe in Malaysia this appears odd as it happened for the first time.

"As for me, I'am the prime minister, I am the party's vice president and though I'm not the party president I still want to see the party win and form the government

Meanwhile, on whether the corruption scandals in the country painted a bad image for the nation, he said, "true the problem could affect the country's image if corruption continues. It will also deter investors from coming to the country".

"What is important is the actions taken by the government in tackling this problem. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (SPRM) has the powers to take action. If you have observed the corruption cases taken to courts, no one is spared regardless of their position.

Also, procedures involving procurement will continue to be tightened to prevent this menace, he said.

As long as the government is committed in acting on corruption, other nations and foreign investors will be confident of the country.

On whether Malaysia has recovered from the 1MDB scandal, he said the trials in courts show the government is serious in eradicating this menace.

-- BERNAMA