Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the dissolution of parliament on Friday, more than two months before the end of his five-year term, paving the way for the next general election to be held within 60 days.
In a televised speech delivered after a special cabinet meeting, Najib said he already acquired the consent of King Sultan Muhammad V to dissolve the parliament.
The date of polling day is yet to be announced by the Election Commission of Malaysia. Normally, a general election should be held no later than two months after the dissolution of the parliament. Voters will elect the 222-member Dewan Rakyat, or House of Representatives.
Najib, who heads the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political party, in the speech laid out key achievements during his tenure, including a 5.9 percent GDP growth in the last year, among the highest in the world, and 2.26 million jobs created.
“We have delivered and we will continue to deliver,” said Najib, adding that “if we won, we pledge that we will implement the best, implement bigger, more inclusive and comprehensive transformation for the people and the nation.”
For the past six decades after Malaysia’s independence, UMNO has won every election together with the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has the Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Indian Congress as its two major component parties.
This time Najib is facing the challenge of 92-year-old former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who fell out with Najib over the 1MDB scandal and quit UMNO in 2016. He later joined the opposition alliance as the chairman of a new party called Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM). Mahathir has said he hoped that the Malay voters, traditionally the supporters of the ruling coalition, could turn to the opposition and change regime this time.
Najib also suggested heads of state government to seek the consent from state heads to dissolve state legislature so that the election could be held concurrently in the country.
