One year as PM: Ismail Sabri remains generous, humble according to schoolmates

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): Generous and humble. Datuk Seri 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 as prime minister for a year now.

Amiruslan Manaf, 63, who went to the same school (Sekolah Menengah Air Putih in Kuantan, Pahang) as Ismail Sabri 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 Sabri was also generous not only in monetary terms but in other ways as well.

“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 Sabri would never fail to share with us.

“And, 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,” said Amiruslan, who hails from Temerloh, Pahang.

His wife Fakhriyatie Mohd Lotfie, 63, also an ex-student of the same school, said Ismail Sabri 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 Sabri is still the same person he used to be … despite his busy schedule, he had attended some of our reunions (when he was a minister and deputy prime minister earlier). Occasionally, he would say ‘hello’ to us in our WhatsApp group,” she said.

Willing to shift political base

Ismail Sabri’s humbleness was not only evident in his daily interactions with the people he knew and the public, but it also stood out in his political career, as pointed out by Umno leader Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin.

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

“We were both deputy division chiefs then. I was in (Umno) Mentakab (division) while Ismail Sabri was in Temerloh. After the re-delineation, one of us had to make a sacrifice,” said Mohd Sharkar, who is now state assemblyman for Lanchang and chairman of the Pahang state Tourism, Culture, Environment, Plantations and Commodities Committee.

He said following the redelineation, Mentakab was removed as an electoral constituency. Subsequently, the then prime minister and Umno president Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi asked one of them (Mohd Sharkar or Ismail Sabri) to shift their base to Bera, a newly-created parliamentary constituency.

“According to him (Abdullah), he couldn’t afford to lose two young people (in the Umno leadership) if both of us decided to remain in the same division (Temerloh). Ismail Sabri was willing to go to Bera although he was already well-known in Temerloh then,” Mohd Sharkar related.

Ismail Sabri won the Bera Umno division chief post unopposed in 2004. The same year, he also became the first Member of Parliament for Bera.

Empathetic

It is not hard to comprehend Ismail Sabri’s empathetic nature because he was born into a poor family. Born and raised in Temerloh, his parents worked as rubber tappers to make ends meet.

Ismail Sabri, who served as a lawyer before becoming active in politics, had his early education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bangau in Temerloh and secondary education at SM Air Putih in Kuantan, a fully-residential school.

Mohd Sharkar said the good relationship between him and Ismail Sabri can not only be attributed to their shared interest in politics but also the fact that they came from neighbouring villages, that is, 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 Sekolah Menengah Teknik Kuantan – in 1976.

Ismail Sabri, meanwhile, has also proven that he is concerned about the welfare of underprivileged communities. In his own Parliamentary constituency of Bera, many of his constituents say their MP empathises with their hardship.

Among them is Md Ramzi Ariffin, 60, who resides in Kampung Mengkarak. He said he received aid from Ismail Sabri soon after his house was inundated by floodwaters that rose up to chest level early this year.

He said Ismail Sabri, in fact, constantly reminds the villagers there to inform him if they encounter any problem, 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,” said Md Ramzi, who is self-employed.

Leader who walks the talk

Although he does not have a background in economics, Ismail Sabri has been astute in taking care of the people’s welfare and managing the nation’s economy that was badly hit by Covid-19.

The whole world is currently reeling from the effects of inflation triggered by, among others, the ongoing pandemic, and Malaysia is no exception.

Keeping an ear to the ground and understanding the hardship the people are facing due to food inflation and the rising cost of living, the prime minister has introduced various initiatives, including setting up a Special Task Force on Jihad against Inflation, to help the people to cope with the challenges. The government has also formulated strategies and coordinated actions to address inflation and control the hike in prices of goods more effectively.

The government under the leadership of Ismail Sabri has also provided various consumption subsidies, including for water and electricity as well as cooking oil. In fact, it has allocated RM80 billion in subsidies this year, which is the largest amount in the history of this nation.

Describing Ismail Sabri as bold and someone who walked the talk, economic analyst Emeritus Prof Dr Barjoyai Bardai likened the prime minister’s move to economic policies implemented by former US president Ronald Wilson Reagan during the 1980s. (Reagan was the 40th president of the United States and served from 1981 to 1989.)

“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

Praising the move to provide subsidies to relieve the people’s burden, Barjoyai said the government should, however, 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 per cent 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.”

On the minimum wage which was raised to RM1,500 in May, Barjoyai said although it is a good move, it is 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