KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 22): New Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has extended an olive branch to opposition leaders and invited them to be part of the National Recovery Council and the Special Committee on Covid-19.
In his maiden speech as the country’s ninth prime minister, Ismail Sabri said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had in his recent meeting with the heads of all political parties decreed to all of them to bury their differences for the sake of prosperity and the welfare of the people.
“All parties should be able to work as a team to persevere the harmony in the country. In other words, we must embrace the spirit of togetherness.
“I understand that the political turmoil that has beseeched the country has distressed the public. Therefore, it is imperative that political stability is swiftly achieved through togetherness, and this includes cross-party cooperation,” he said in the nationally televised speech.
Ismail Sabri also pledged to ensure that every effort and intervention by the government to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, is more comprehensive.
The implementation will be carried out via strategic inter-governmental cooperation and with involvement of all stakeholders from both public and private sector, in order to ensure the national healthcare system is restabilised, he said.
“This government will pursue the previous government’s efforts in implementing measures in order for us to swiftly move to the next phase of recovery through herd immunity.
“To achieve the target sooner, this government will further strengthen the implementation of strategies and initiatives in increasing the coverage of the Malaysia’s National Covid-19 Immunization Programme (PICK),” he added.
The prime minister announced the additional purchase of six million doses of vaccines which will arrive in early September.
“In conjunction with the success of our vaccination programme, we are optimistic of the future prospect of going back to visit parents in hometowns, celebrating festivities and traveling domestically.
“Youngsters can once again enjoy recreational activities, return to their higher learning institutions and most importantly, our children can return to school,” Ismail Sabri said.