PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Newly minted Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will make his maiden address to the nation at 5.30pm on Sunday (Aug 22).
His address, which will be carried live on television and various social media networks, comes a day after he was sworn in as the ninth prime minister at Istana Negara on Saturday.
Datuk Seri Ismail is expected to touch on several matters such as a common goal to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a political ceasefire and inclusivity.
Also eagerly anticipated is if he will announce the new Cabinet line-up.
Mr Ismail was appointed prime minister after securing a majority support of 114 MPs after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin stepped down as premier last Monday.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN) will let its chairman Mr Muhyiddin discuss the deputy prime minister's post with Mr Ismail, said Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Mr Ahmad Faizal, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) deputy president, however, said the matter was not discussed at Sunday's PN supreme council meeting.
"We will let the chairman discuss it with the PM and let him (Ismail Sabri) decide," Mr Ahmad Faizal told reporters after the two-hour meeting when asked if the deputy prime minister's post had been discussed.
Asked if PN would make any demands for ministerial portfolios, Mr Ahmad Faizal replied that Mr Muhyiddin would discuss this with Mr Ismail.
"And I believe the Prime Minister will make the right decision," he said, adding that the most important task now is to form a stable Cabinet to bring the country out of the health and economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
PN leaders are having a meeting on Sunday, with several of the coalition's top leaders spotted entering the PN office as early as 10am on Sunday.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and Perikatan youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin were among those seen entering the building.
On Saturday night, the Bersatu supreme council gathered at a hotel in the city to discuss the way forward after Mr Ismail's appointment.
The meeting, chaired by Mr Muhyiddin, began at about 8.30pm.
Bersatu, the biggest bloc in Perikatan with 31 MPs, is said to have been given complete say over who becomes the next deputy prime minister after they threw their full support behind Mr Ismail, with the party even giving up the prime minister's post to Umno, Mr Ismail's party.
