KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong has defended caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s track record, crediting him with steering the country through the choppy waters of the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine War and subsequent economic fallout.

He commented as such after being told during an interview with Astro Awani last night that a survey by Merdeka Center showed respondents were highly dissatisfied with Malaysia’s economic situation during Ismail Sabri’s administration.

He claimed that the government’s intervention in the form of subsidies had prevented the country from falling into a deep recession.

“It was an extraordinary time when oil prices soared due to the Ukraine War, but we have provided numerous subsidies.

“If not for the subsidies that we have given, the inflation rate would have been even higher,” Wee said.

When asked for his take on the apparently dwindling support for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the lead-up to the 15th general election (GE15) compared to the spirited mood of the Johor state election earlier this year, Wee said that the coalition’s performance in the state since then would speak for itself.

He also said that Johor’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) had increased by 50 per cent in the first 100 days of the BN administration.

“Having investors coming in will create more and better opportunities for youth,” Wee said, before adding that this was the result of a more stable government being voted to power.

“This is what we need to do at the federal level as well. We need a stable government that doesn’t have a revolving door of prime ministers.”

The caretaker transport minister conceded, however, that Malaysia had yet to fully recover from the toll exacted on its economy by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Whichever party is given the mandate must look at what happened during the pandemic and the recovery of the economy... a lot more work needs to be done.

“And I believe BN has the right people to do the job,” said Wee.

As for BN’s strategy to attract young voters, Wee said his coalition hopes to build ties with them through the education system.

“We work closely with schools at all levels, helping the youth through various programmes, and we can build friendships from there,” said Wee.

With the rising cost of living in mind, he also said that job opportunities must be created for those who decide not to pursue a higher education.

In GE15, Wee is defending his Ayer Hitam seat, which he won by a narrow margin of 303 votes in 2018 against DAP’s Liew Chin Tong.

His challengers on November 19 are Pakatan Harapan’s Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, who is also Johor DAP vice-chairman, and Perikatan Nasional’s Muhammad Syafiq A. Aziz, a special officer to former mentri besar Datuk Osman Sapian.