Malaysian PM hints at early polls
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak has asked members of the ruling party and his supporters to be prepared for polls, in one of the strongest signs yet from the leader that he may call early elections.
Najib, whose tenure ends by the second half of next year, is seeking a fresh mandate to rule as he faces an internal revolt led by his former mentor.
“I want to ask you all, are we strong enough? Are we ready? Can we dissolve Parliament tomorrow?” he said to cheers from a capacity crowd at the 87,000-seater stadium in Kuala Lumpur, where his party, the United Malay National Organization (UMNO), celebrated its 71st anniversary.
“That is the spirit that we want,” he said.
Tens of thousands of party members clad in red, the party color, filled the stadium grandstand, cheering and singing along to party songs for several hours as they waited for Najib to turn up to deliver his keynote address.
Thursday’s anniversary celebration was arguably one of the largest since Najib took over as prime minister in 2009.
“All of you are have gathered here, as a symbol that our party is the strongest party on Malaysian soil,” Najib said.
The next election is not due until 2018 but Najib is expected to capitalize on opposition disarray and call one this year.
Government sources have told Reuters that Najib may call polls in the third quarter.
Although Najib is widely expected to win, he has little room for manoeuvre. The UMNOled Barisan Nasional (BN) won narrowly in the 2013 elections and if his majority was further eroded, Najib could face an internal leadership challenge.
Najib’s former mentor turned critic Mahathir Mohamad is now leading an opposition party campaign to oust him.