KUANTAN, Oct 29 — Only a strong and stable government can prevent turmoil in an administration and allow it to focus on key tasks like reviving the economy, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said turmoil might occur if the government formed was not sufficiently strong, resulting in the Prime Minister or Menteri Besar having to focus on political issues instead of doing what is needed for the people’s interests.

He cited the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led Pahang government under Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail as an example of a very stable administration which had achieved many successes, including in generating revenue of more than RM1 billion.

"In the early stages of my administration, we managed to make the political situation more stable but towards the end before I dissolved Parliament, the government was quite unstable. I was subjected to attacks not only from outside but also by presidents of parties in the government,” he said.

Ismail Sabri said this when speaking at the Keluarga Malaysia (The Malaysian Family) Feast in conjunction with the Pahang-level Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia (AKM) Tour at Dewan Jubli Perak Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah here today. Also present were Wan Rosdy and Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

In this connection, Ismail Sabri said it is important for BN to win many seats in the 15th general election next month so that it could govern on its own instead of depending on the support of other parties, like what happened previously when the coalition controlled only 42 parliamentary seats after the 2018 polls.

"When someone threatened to press the button (to withdraw support), in the spirit of Mat Kilau I pressed the button first and Parliament was dissolved on Oct 10. Our duty now is to form a new government capable of looking after the people’s interests.

"Although it was sad that we lost previously, it gave all Malaysians an opportunity to assess which government is better. Under the BN administration, many good things were done and the economy was stable, but when Pakatan Harapan ruled for 22 months the people could see its misdeeds and the destruction it caused,” he said.

Polling is on Nov 19, with nomination set for Nov 5 and early voting on Nov 15. — Bernama