Parliament could be dissolved next week, says Rahman Dahlan

GE14 | The Dewan Rakyat might be dissolved before Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak launches the BN manifesto towards the end of next week, BN strategic communications director Abdul Rahman Dahlan said today.

“Chances are, based on our previous experiences, the launch of the BN manifesto will be held after the dissolution of Parliament. That is the tradition.

"(But) I am not sure if Najib will use the same method (this year),” he told reporters after examining roads and drainage conditions in Sepanggar, Kota Kinabalu.

The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said the manifesto was slotted to be launched sometime next week, while the last day of the Dewan Rakyat sitting is on April 5 (Thursday).

“Someone was telling me, but I can't confirm. You (people) will expect some time next week that Parliament will be dissolved,” he added.

According to Rahman, the launch of the manifesto will be held in a grand gathering at Bukit Jalil.

He said he had seen the manifesto and that there would be "nice and surprising” things especially for Sabah.

"There are also some items (in the manifesto) that were never thought of before, but we (Sabah BN leaders) fought hard for those items so that the Prime Minister included one or two of those things in the manifesto. Just wait until the launching (to find out the items),” he said.

Rahman said Sabah’s rights in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 would also be included in the manifesto.

As a member of the National Steering Committee on the Devolution of Powers to Sabah and Sarawak, co-chaired by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri, he said the time for reviewing the MA63 was over and it was time for its implementation.

“I can assure you that Anifah and Nancy along with all the other cabinet members from Sabah and Sarawak are committed that the spirit of MA63 be restored in accordance with the wishes of the Prime Minister that whatever was inadvertently or deliberately taken away from Sabah (and Sarawak) will be returned,” he said.

Rahman also stressed that the manifesto was not a tell-all document, in which, he clarified, contained items that had not been discussed before, but something the BN promised to do in the next five years given the mandate to rule the country.

"Therefore, I think that the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah ought not be in the manifesto as a decision on the matter had been made and that had already been known to the people,” he explained.

He also said the manifesto should be read together with other commitments that the BN government had launched in order to have a better understanding of BN's commitment towards the people and the country.

“For example, you must read the manifesto together with what we (BN government) promised in the 11th Malaysia Plan, the 2050 National Transformation document and the annual budget that the Prime Minister tables every year.

- Bernama