PM expected to make key announcement tomorrow
Published on: Sunday, October 09, 2022
By: FMT
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is expected to make an important announcement tomorrow, widely speculated to be about the dissolution of Parliament.
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Should Parliament be dissolved tomorrow, nine months short of a full term, a general election could be held by the first week of November, going by the Election Commission’s practices in the 2013 and 2018 general elections.
Ismail was reported to have sought a special audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah today, to obtain royal consent for the dissolution of Parliament.
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A high-level government source contacted by FMT said he could not reveal any details. However, he said: “I believe there will be an announcement by the prime minister tomorrow.”
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He said invitations to the media to cover the event could be issued within hours.
Earlier today, the New Straits Times (NST) reported that Ismail had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara this afternoon, hours before the King was to leave for London on a special 6-day visit.
The NST said the prime minister had sought consent for the dissolution of Parliament, which according to a source, “could be as early as tomorrow”.
Separately, a source close to Ismail could not confirm with FMT whether the prime minister had gone to meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong today.
However, when asked for information about Ismail’s announcement tomorrow, the source said that it “could be about (Parliament’s) dissolution”.
By law, a general election must be held within 60 days after Parliament is dissolved. In 2013 and 2018, polling took place a month after dissolution, with election campaigning over a two-week period.
Umno leaders have been pressing for elections to be held before the end of the year, but the party’s main rivals, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional have objected.
Leaders of the two coalitions have cited the possibility of floods during the northeast monsoon season, from mid-November to March, as among the reasons to delay polls to a later date. – FMT
