Najib mulls polls delay

Najib had been expected to call for snap polls within the first half of the year. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — The Najib administration is considering holding snap polls only in the fourth quarter of this year to allow big-ticket economic projects to gain traction, delaying earlier plans to seek a fresh mandate in the first half of 2011.

Umno officials and MPs involved in last weekend’s meeting between Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers told The Malaysian Insider that the Umno president was now favouring elections only after projects like the construction of the city’s mass rapid transit (MRT) and Sungei Besi development kick off.

Najib, who is also finance minister, said last month that the implementation of the RM36 billion MRT project will generate a gross national income (GNI) of between RM3 billion and RM4 billion beginning next year until its completion in 2020.

He also said the construction of the project was expected to generate spin-offs worth between RM8 billion and RM12 billion.

It is understood that during last weekend’s meeting, Najib had asked MPs to list down the projects in their constituencies which had not taken off.

He also asked the MPs to inform him of campaign promises made in 2008 to voters which had not been fulfilled.

Officials familiar with what transpired at the discussions said Najib had told MPs he would help them ensure the 2008 campaign promises and projects could take off before calling for snap polls.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib had previously discussed with BN component leaders last month the possibility of holding the next general election in either May or June due to fears that the predicted global economic slowdown would impact Malaysia’s economy in the third quarter.

According to a Merdeka Centre survey of peninsular Malaysian voters obtained in December, optimism in the economy for 2011 fell six per cent from May, with just 47 per cent expecting the economy to be better this year.

Voter pessimism about an uncertain economic outlook is likely to be a strong factor in favour of early polls.

Another major boost for Najib as he mulls an early general election this year is his approval rating, which remains high — 69 per cent said they were satisfied with the prime minister’s performance while 54 per cent thought the country was on the right track, up from 52 per cent in May.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) warned in its latest country report on Malaysia that Najib would need a strong mandate this year in order to survive Umno’s internal elections in 2012.

Despite repeated denials, Najib has already placed his BN on an election footing, with most component parties — including Umno — putting off party polls next year to concentrate on the expected snap polls - Malaysian Insider