Najib to dissolve Parliament this evening? Talk of snap polls after Felda debut

PKR deput president Azmin Ali warned that Prime Minister Najib Razak could spring a surprise and dissolve Parliament this evening to take advantage of the feel-good factor from Thursday's Felda listing.

"We cannot guess the exact date of when GE-13 will be but we are sure it is very soon. We do not dismiss  the possibility that Najib will dissolve Parliament on Friday evening itself after chairing a special BN Supreme Council meeting in the morning," Azmin said during a ceramah or political speech last night.

Still possible before Ramadan

The Gombak MP pointed to the Felda IPO which chalked up a premium of 84 sen above its IPO price of RM4.55 o its debut on the Main Board of the Malaysian bourse. The IPO is the world's second largest this year after Facebook's disastrous market outing last month.

"On Friday, PKR is holding its central leadership council meeting and we hear Najib has also called for an emergency BN supreme council meeting. We believe it is possible that after BN meeting, Najib will announce the dissolution of Parliament," said Azmin.

"If that is done, then on Saturday, the Election Commission will hold a meeting and announce the nomination and balloting dates. If they do it fast, there is still the chance that GE-13 can be held before Ramadan."

Ramadan is the Muslim fasting month and for Malaysia, it will begin on July 21 and end on August 19 or 20.

Unhealthy uncertainty

The Malaysian Parliament adjourned sine die today after approving 8 bills in a 12-day session that began on June 11. The next sitting is scheduled to begin on Sept 24 for 34 days if Parliament is not dissolved to make way for the 13th general election.

Najib has kept the nation on a guessing game as to when he will call for a vote, with previous much-touted dates in November 2011, March/April 2012, June/July, Sept/Oct and the latest November this year.

The uncertainty has annoyed many quarters with business groups now openly criticizing the delay in holding the vote.

Given the clear lack of confidence, many Malaysians believe Najib will wait for the BN's full 5-year term to expire before putting to test the people's support for his coalition, which has ruled Malaysia since 1957.

In the 2008 general election, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Rakyat won 82 of the Parliament's 222 seats and control of 5 of the country's 13 states. This result is actually deceptive as Pakatan won more than 50% of the total votes, but due to extensive gerrymandering of the past, came away with fewer seats than BN.

In GE-13, the Pakatan is expected to continue to advance and many pundits have given them a better than even chance of wresting the federal government.

Malaysia Chronicle