"I already have four DPMs"

PUTRAJAYA - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob insisted there is no need to create the Deputy Prime Minister position as the four senior ministers already played the same role for the country.

He said all the senior ministers also enjoyed the same benefit as the deputy prime minister.

The four senior ministers are the International Trade and Industry Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Md Jidin and Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadhillah Yusof.

“Let the matter (deputy prime minister’s appointment) be. As of today, I have appointed four senior ministers, as there are four deputy prime ministers who has been always helping me.

“They enjoyed many benefits such as an escort team and bodyguards the same as the deputy prime minister.

“Hence as of now, absence of a deputy prime minister is not a burden to me when I have four deputy prime ministers including two from Bersatu, one from GPS and one from Umno,” he said in a special interview in conjunction with his one year in office at Seri Perdana here recently.

He said this when asked about a certain party's insistence that the deputy prime minister position should be appointed from a Bersatu leader.

Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob

Ismail Sabri, who is also Umno vice president, also praised the attitudes of Pas leaders’ when they did not raise the absence of their representatives as senior ministers despite being part of the “Keluarga Malaysia” administration.

“Even if there is no senior minister appointed from Pas, they never raised it. I think all sides accept the limitations and those talking too much are those outside the government because the Cabinet members have never raised this issue,” said the Prime Minister.

The drama over the position of deputy prime minister started when Bersatu claimed that the position belonged to them, creating tension between the Umno leaders and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s party.

This led to arguments from both sides with some leaders insisting for Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu President, to withdraw support for Ismail Sabri.

Muhyiddin’s former private secretary chief, Datuk Dr Marzuki Mohamad was recently reported saying that there was an agreement between the Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Ismail Sabri about the deputy prime minister position.

Marzuki claims that the deal was witnessed by two important people from Umno and Bersatu.