KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 ― Views via social media of ministers’ performance in their first 100 days on the job will be used to tally their overall achievement score, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

He said there were several methods that can be applied to obtain feedback and sentiment analysis, and cited the rakyat’s perception of ministers and professional surveys as some of them.

"Overall, I will score them akin to how school report cards are done, and that is one way.  We have a committee… some of those scores will come from the people, but at what percentage we have not decided… the people’s views are one way,” he said in a special interview with senior editors here recently.

The prime minister said he was quite diligent when it comes to catching up with netizens’ comments and postings on social media, and sometimes even replies to them personally.

"Recently they (ministers) presented suggestions for KPI (key performance indicators) and I told them that there needs to be that feel good factor for the people… we will wait for the ministers to announce them themselves,” he said.

Ismail Sabri said he was doing this (100 days report card) not as a form of punishment but merely to ensure the ministers were doing their job well.

"The 100 days target is not to punish the ministers. I’ve been asked if any (minister) could face the sack, and I hope none will face action. I just want them to perform well, nothing more. Once the 100 days are over, there will be mid-term and long-term plans,” he said.

Asked whether he had set a 100-day achievement target for himself, the prime minister smiled and replied: "Yes of course there is one (target) for myself.. wait for my announcement when I address the nation.. wait for December 10.”

He said so far, there had been mixed reactions from the people on the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) after it was tabled in Parliament on Sept 27.

"There have been favourable comments, but not all. There were also negative ones, for example (comments) over (Bumiputera) equity which came from non-Bumiputera,” Ismail Sabri said.

Overall, he said the 12MP had been well received, but added that implementation was far more important now.

Ismail Sabri was also asked on non-Malays’ perception, especially the Chinese, of his administration, and whether special efforts will be taken to secure stronger support from the community.

"I have yet to carry out a detailed study (on this)… it has only been a month, (and so) it is still early days. Sometimes, they (sentiments) are positive early on but then change over time.

"Whereas, there are some who are not receptive in the beginning but get convinced as time goes by, and that is why in five or six months, three months after the 100th day, I will probably deliver an address… there are lots more to give to the people and things could change after that. That is also why 100 days is too short a period to evaluate achievements,” he said.

When unveiling his new Cabinet, comprising 31 ministers and 38 deputy ministers, on August 27, Ismail Sabri said all ministers were required to prove their early achievements within the first 100 days of the administration. ― Bernama