Continuing his push for the general election to be held this year, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi argued that if Parliament is dissolved, the interim prime minister will still have the powers to tackle floods.
“In terms of powers and controlling floods during the monsoon season, the prime minister still has the powers, and it would be difficult for the opposition to shine during this period.
“The opposition feels stressed about this (scenario). The opposition is unable to compete on a level playing field with the ruling parties when parliament is dissolved.
“The opposition does not have this advantage and this makes them worried,” he added in a Facebook posting this morning.
According to Zahid, apart from ensuring the government continues to function after parliament is dissolved, the interim prime minister can also hold the national flood disaster management meeting.
“An election amid the coming flood season does not mean the polls would be held when the nation is hit by floods.
“God willing, the election will be held before this (floods),” he added.
Previously, Zahid claimed the opposition is using the floods narrative to avoid the general election because it has lost Malay support.
"The opposition's 'real' worry is that the Malay voter base, which represents the country's biggest population, does not support them when BN calls for the election,” he added.
On the other hand, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has launched an online petition against holding the general election during the monsoon season.
He said holding the national polls during floods would incur an expenditure of more than RM1 billion, which should be channelled to disaster management efforts instead.
Furthermore, he added that hundreds of thousands of civil servants would be assigned to handle the election when they should be assisting flood victims.
As of 11.30am today, the petition garnered close to 11,000 signatures. - Mkini
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