Tok Mat as FM?

Umno Youth proposes Mat Hasan as finance minister

Umno Youth has proposed the party’s deputy president Mohamad Hasan become the next finance minister as anticipation mounts over the new cabinet line-up.

Its chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said that a finance minister who understands the “pulse” of the rakyat is needed to properly address their demands on the loan moratorium and Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal scheme i-Citra.

“In order to realise the #TuntutanRakyat (demands of the rakyat) related to the moratorium, i-Citra, topping up aid packages of the rakyat, who are faced with difficulties, anxiety, and stress, requires a finance minister to be chosen from among those who are used to working with the rakyat and understand their pulse.

“I propose for the prime minister to consider appointing Mohamad (above) as finance minister in the new cabinet,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

This came in light of anticipation surrounding the formation of a cabinet under newly sworn-in Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The Bera MP was sworn in as the ninth prime minister on Aug 21, after receiving the support of 114 MPs through statutory declarations made to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Since his appointment as PM, various lists have been circulating on social media, purporting to be his cabinet line-up.

In a separate statement earlier, Asyraf had expressed his support for the “Malaysian Family” concept - which was touted by Ismail Sabri in his inaugural speech as the PM to unite Malaysians from all walks of life.

“#KeluargaMalaysia (Malaysian family) is a very good, new and inclusive approach by the ninth PM to focus on the wellbeing of the people and cross-party national recovery in line with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree,” he said.

Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki

Asyraf emphasised the need to prioritise three issues with immediate effect. The proposed measures include:

• The improvement of financial assistance packages, which includes Bantuan Prihatin, interest-free loan moratorium and additional fiscal injection of government assistance among others.
• The acceleration and expansion of Covid-19 vaccination efforts to achieve herd immunity.
• A review of the total lockdown approach to break the virus chain, accompanied by special assistance to the people.

The Umno Youth chief added that the Covid-19 recovery plan can only be realised with the cooperation of all political parties.

“By involving all political parties regardless of ideology, not only can the recovery plan be realised effectively, but the temperature of the country’s political climate could drop and a political ceasefire can really be implemented,” he said.