Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been under pressure from Umno to hold the general election, and this appears to have intensified after the Federal Court upheld Najib Abdul Razak’s conviction and sentence.
However, former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan is hoping the premier, who is also an Umno vice-president, would not succumb.
Training her guns on “Umno warlords”, she said Parliament should not be dissolved merely to “save the necks of one, maybe two or three persons.”
“These ‘warlords’ must never be allowed to govern again. Ever,” she told Malaysiakini.
“They do not even blink at sacrificing the nation and its people just to protect a few. And they do it with such arrogance and a sense of entitlement. They respect no institutions and believe they are above the law,” she charged.
Although Ambiga did not mention names, it was evident that one of the “necks” which she referred to belonged to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is facing a slew of corruption charges.
On Aug 20, Zahid, who is also BN chairperson, said that Umno risked losing the general election if it was not held this year.
He claimed that BN was in a strong position and that it would be unwise to stall the polls to allow its political rivals to keep launching attacks.
According to Ambiga, holding an election at this point would be irresponsible.
“The people are sick and tired of this relentless agitation for some people to be excluded from the application of the law. It is so apparent that these warlords do not care for the people.
“At this point, there is a level of calm and stability. Some commendable pieces of legislation have been passed. There is no reason for there to be elections.
“If there are elections because of their shenanigans, then I sincerely hope they will be punished and never allowed back into power again,” she added.
Early tabling of Budget 2023
Pakatan Harapan is also concerned about its electoral prospects, fearing poor voter turnout.
The coalition’s supporters were left disappointed after the Harapan government, which dislodged Najib and BN from power in the watershed 2018 polls, collapsed after 22 months.
Earlier today, Malaysiakini reported that Budget 2023 would be tabled on Oct 3, three weeks earlier than scheduled, fueling speculation that the election is around the corner.
However, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar denied that the rescheduling was related to the polls.
Meanwhile, Ambiga also expressed outrage over media reports that Ismail Sabri was purportedly issued an “ultimatum” during Umno’s political bureau meeting on Wednesday, a day after Najib landed in prison.
Responding to one particular report which claimed that Ismail Sabri was asked to sack the chief justice and attorney-general as well as to dissolve Parliament, she said: “The Umno warlords need a good legal advisor”.
“It helps that Ismail Sabri is a lawyer. I am sure that the former prime ministers who were lawyers would be aghast at these demands,” she added.
However, Umno leaders have denied the reports, with party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan describing it as “slander”. - Mkini
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