Respect for Umno president surpasses everything - Ismail Sabri
He never had any issues with Zahid, despite some attempts to portray tension between them.
SHAH ALAM - Former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob revealed that he never had any issues with Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, despite attempts by some to portray tension between them.
In fact, the Bera MP admitted that his respect for Zahid outweighed everything, even though he became the ninth prime minister while serving as Umno’s vice president at the time.
For this reason, he said, every action he took was done with caution to ensure the feelings of various parties were considered.
"Like it or not, he is the party president, and I am the third in command. I must respect him.
"When I was the Defence Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and later the Prime Minister, I had a large entourage of security escorts.
"But to maintain harmony, I never requested during Umno Supreme Council meetings to drop me off at the fourth floor. If I were there and the president heard sirens, he might feel offended.
"So, I would enter the parking lot on the third floor and go upstairs. The police wouldn’t use the sirens. I did this deliberately to protect my president’s feelings," he said during the Podcast Keluar Sekejap (KS), hosted by former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and former Umno Information Chief Shahril Hamdan.
Ismail Sabri also admitted that as Prime Minister, he often met Zahid at other venues instead of his official office in Perdana Putra, Putrajaya.
"When I became Prime Minister, I could have asked him to come to my office, but I didn’t. Instead, I would go to the Yayasan Akal Budi in Country Heights, Kajang.
"As soon as I entered the area, I would turn off all the lights and sirens. The police escorts would stay back, and only my car would go inside because I wanted to respect the president’s feelings," he said.
Responding to a question about the 'Putrajaya team' and 'PWTC team,' he said he was aware of the talk but never paid much attention to it.
"I’ve heard about it, but I didn’t let it bother me. I just carried on as usual, doing what we had always done.
"My relationship with Datuk Zahid is long-standing. I’ve known him since school, and I know his wife too. I still call her Kak Midah. So, the respect is there and hasn’t faded," said Ismail Sabri, who served as Prime Minister from August 2021 to November 2022.
Reflecting on his appointment as the ninth Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri admitted that it happened unexpectedly, and he had no plans to lead Putrajaya.
However, he was fortunate that his path to promotion was made easier when he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who became Prime Minister following the Sheraton Move.
"Yes, it happened without planning or anticipation. When we withdrew our support for Muhyiddin, who would be next as PM? I was fortunate because I was the DPM at that time. After 42 days as DPM, suddenly, there was a vacancy for the Prime Minister's position.
"In terms of hierarchy, it was logical for me to be appointed since I was already the DPM. I believe I was chosen because there was no other choice. It was similar to when Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) took over from Tun M (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) because he was the DPM at that time," he said.
