KUALA LUMPUR: An uphill task awaits Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is scheduled to take his oath of office as Malaysia's ninth prime minister today.
His appointment is hoped to bring an end to the political crisis in the country.
The swearing-in ceremony before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah will take place at 2.30pm at Istana Negara.
The Umno vice-president has his work cut out for him, as he is set to take the helm of the federal administration during a time when the Covid-19 daily cases have surpassed the 23,000 mark and the country's economy is on the path to recovery.
Ismail Sabri's leadership will be put to the test in steering the country out of the pandemic, but he must do this not without the cooperation of all quarters, including the opposition, in order to safeguard the wellbeing of the people.
This includes efforts to ensure a smooth Covid-19 vaccination drive as the economic and social sectors have reopened, with businesses resuming operations and Malaysians looking forward to return to a new normal.
Ismail Sabri, 61, is also expected to table a vote of confidence in Parliament to prove his majority support among members of parliament, as previously decreed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The appointment of the Bera MP as the prime minister was in accordance with article 40(2)(a) and article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
Al-Sultan Abdullah, in determining Ismail Sabri as most likely to command the majority support yesterday, earlier summoned 114 MPs who named him as the prime minister.
The appointment came after a series of political squabbles, which saw Umno's withdrawal of support for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government and the Opposition's dismissal of his proposal for a bipartisan cooperation.
This has led to Muhyiddin's resignation as prime minister on Monday after losing command of the parliamentary majority.
Prior to this, Ismail Sabri was appointed the deputy prime minister on July 7 under the PN-led government, while retaining his portfolio as the defence minister.
Ismail Sabri, who holds Bachelor of Law degree from Universiti Malaya, has been appointed to several ministerial positions, namely, youth and sports (2008); domestic trade, co-operatives and consumerism (2009), agriculture and agro-based industry (2013); and rural and regional development (2015).
Born on Jan 18, 1960 in Temerloh, he has served as the Bera elected representative since 2004.
Ismail Sabri held his first position in Umno as a Temerloh division committee member in 1987, and later Umno Temerloh division information chief, youth movement head, division deputy chief and division chief in 2004 before contesting for the newly-created parliamentary constituency in the general election.