PAS: Polls on March 11

Kuala Krai MP Dr Hatta Ramli is confident that the 13th GE will be held in March.

SEREMBAN: PAS is of the view that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will dissolve Parliament in early February and call for the 13th general election on March 11.

PAS central election department director Hatta Ramli said that would leave political parties with only 50 days to ready themselves for the polls.

“Based on my Umno insider information, Najib will dissolve Parliament in early February. Nominations will be held either on 25th or 26th and we will have two weeks campaign period before we cast the votes on March 11.

“So we only have another 50 days to work. There is not much time left for us to sit and relax,” the Kuala Krai MP told a 500-strong crowd during the opening ceremony of the Lenggeng PAS election operations centre here.

Hatta’s claim is strengthened by the fact that the first term school holidays for 2012 is from March 10 to 18.

If indeed the polls are held in March, then it is likely that the schools would be used as polling centres and many school teachers would be recruited as temporary Election Commission staff.

Lenggeng is one of the state seats that fall under the Seremban parliament seat. Pakatan Rakyat won Seremban and all state seats within Seremban in the 12th general election except the Lenggeng state seat. PAS loss Lenggeng to Barisan Nasional’s Mustafa Salim.

‘Political gimmick’

Meanwhile, at the same function Seremban MP John Fernandez had the crowd in stitches when he described the proposal by the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board for Cabinet ministers, including their spouses and children to declare their assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as akin to “a father declaring his assets to his children”.

“This is a big joke. If the prime minister and his cabinet minister are really transparent please declare your assets to the public like how Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his exco members made public their assets. You can even access (details) through the state government website.

“MACC is just another government department. For me this is merely a political gimmick by the government since the 13th general election is around the corner,” he said.

Also present was Negeri Sembilan PAS commissioner Mohd Taufek Abdul Ghani, PKR supreme council member and Seremban PKR deputy chief Dr Mohamad Rafie Abdul Malek and Seremban PAS chief MK Ibrahim Abdul Rahman.