Umno deputy president calls on assembly delegates to deliberate on snap polls

KUALA LUMPUR - Umno's deputy president Mohammad Hasan on Wednesday night (March 16) urged thousands of delegates to the party's general assembly this week to deliberate on an early general election in Malaysia, a call that could increase pressure on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to dissolve Parliament in the coming months.

The call came just four days after the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) secured a two-thirds majority at the Johor state legislative election last Saturday amid a low voter turnout.

Datuk Seri Muhamad, one of the key Umno leaders agitating for snap polls, urged delegates to deliberate on the merits of holding an early election, after spending nearly an hour espousing the benefits at the opening of the four-day assembly.

"There is no excuse for us to delay holding an election. In fact, holding an election during a pandemic is the best option. It can be conducted with discipline and good conduct as witnessed in Melaka, Sarawak and Johor," he told the delegates.

Mr Mohamad was also critical of the current government led by Datuk Seri Ismail.

"Sorry to say, our performance in the government is not inspiring the confidence expected. I understand there are those who are trying their best. But the result is not showing," he said.

Mr Mohamad added that the current economic fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine could further dampen Malaysia's economy, which has been battered by the pandemic over the past two years.

If the situation prolongs, Umno too might bear the brunt of voters' anger, which is right now directed at Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) as the past two ruling coalitions, he said.

"The longer we let this go on, people will paint Umno and BN as the black sheep."

Mr Mohamad, who was the Umno election director in Johor, previously made it clear that the party will push for snap elections should it score a big win in the state.

Umno leaders - especially the camp led by party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - believe that a snap election would result in BN returning to federal power with an outright majority.

This will be a quick turnaround of fortunes for the party that lost federal power for the first time at the 2018 election on the back of scandals plaguing an administration led by Najib Razak, Ahmad Zahid's ally in the party.

Najib is seeing a revival of sorts as well.

He was one of the key campaigners for BN in Johor and attracted strong crowds wherever he went, even though he has been convicted of graft related to his role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, and is now awaiting a final appeal at Malaysia's highest court.

Mr Ismail - who is Umno vice-president and also the first PM who is not the president of his party - has been facing calls to dissolve Parliament for several months. The calls grew louder on the back of the Johor win.

The outcome of the Umno delegates' deliberation, which will be presented in a list of resolutions when the assembly ends on Saturday, could well render Mr Ismail the shortest serving premier.

He has been on the job only for seven months, after he took power following the resignation of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. The latter lost his majority after several Umno politicians aligned to Zahid pulled their support for him.

Mr Ismail is leading a government consisting of both BN and Mr Muhyiddin's PN.

However, the loose alliance only has a four-seat majority, and Mr Ismail relies heavily on a confidence and supply agreement (CSA) with PH, the biggest opposition bloc .

The CSA effectively guarantees Mr Ismail's position until at least August this year, allowing him to see out a year in office.

But Mr Mohamad cast doubts on the deal on Wednesday.

"What is the guarantee that the CSA we have signed will stand in this extremely dynamic political situation?" he said.