Malaysian PM says he may propose early election during king meeting

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he may propose a date for dissolution of parliament in his meeting with the country's monarch on Thursday, state media reported, as he faces calls to hold early elections this year. A proposed date will be submitted to the king only if there was time, and the meeting was mainly about cabinet matters, Ismail Sabri said, according to news agency Bernama.


Reuters | Kualalumpur | Updated: 06-10-2022 12:27 IST | Created: 06-10-2022 12:25 IST
Malaysian PM says he may propose early election during king meeting
Ismail Sabri Yaakob Image Credit: Wikipedia
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Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he may propose a date for dissolution of parliament in his meeting with the country's monarch on Thursday, state media reported, as he faces calls to hold early elections this year.

A proposed date will be submitted to the king only if there was time, and the meeting was mainly about cabinet matters, Ismail Sabri said, according to news agency Bernama. An election is not due until September 2023, but Ismail is under pressure from some factions of his ruling coalition to hold the vote earlier for a stronger mandate and due to infighting.

His government is scheduled to table its 2023 budget in parliament on Friday, the finance ministry has said, putting to rest some speculation that a dissolution could be announced before then. Ismail will meet the king at 4 p.m. local time (0800 GMT) for his weekly audience, the premier's spokesperson said earlier.

"It's just a normal, routine meeting that the PM has with the king before the cabinet meeting," the spokesperson said. They did not comment on whether Ismail would seek dissolution of parliament.

Last week, Ismail's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party, which forms the biggest component of the ruling coalition, said the premier will seek King Al-Sultan Abdullah's consent to dissolve parliament this year, leading to speculation that Ismail could call for polls any day. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and the king typically acts on the prime minister's advice. But the king does have certain discretionary powers, including withholding consent for dissolution of the parliament.

There have been calls from the public, opposition and even some ruling party lawmakers to hold off from having an election at the end of the year due to the seasonal monsoon rains and floods. Malaysia was hit with unusually heavy rain late last year and floods that caused around 6 billion ringgit ($1.3 billion) in damage.

The king visited the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre on Thursday morning and was briefed on weather conditions and flood preparation by various government agencies, Bernama reported. The closed-door briefing was held at the request of the king, Bernama said.

Some cabinet ministers have written to the monarch this week, requesting him not to hold elections this year due to flood risks, local media reported. ($1 = 4.6290 ringgit)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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