Malaysian prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced on Monday that parliament will be dissolved, paving the way for general elections that are expected to be held in early November.
The election would come nine months before parliament’s term expires, following calls for early polls from Mr Ismail’s United Malays National Organisation. UMNO, the biggest party in the ruling coalition, has been feuding with its allies and is aiming for a big win on its own.
Mr Ismail said he met on Sunday with King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who consented to the dissolution. He said he decided to call early polls amid criticism over the legitimacy of his government – the third since 2018.
“With this announcement, the mandate will be returned to the people. The people’s mandate is a powerful antidote” to create a firm and stable government, he said in a televised announcement.
The Election Commission is expected to meet within the week to announce a date for the vote, which is likely to be held before the year-end monsoon season that often brings devastating floods.
UMNO’s allies in the government and opposition parties have protested against any plans to hold elections during the monsoon season, which last year killed more than 50 people and displaced thousands.
But the party’s top leaders decided recently that polls must be called this year for UMNO to capitalise on the return of ethnic Malay voters and an opposition in disarray.
Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert with Malaysia’s Nottingham University, said: “Ismail Sabri has succumbed to pressure by his party UMNO, serving the shortest tenure as a PM, and entering the country into polls during a dangerous season of monsoon floods.
“UMNO believes it has the advantage with early polls and has maintained pressure as they hope to return to power as the dominant party.”
UMNO led Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, but was brought down in 2018 elections by a multibillion-dollar financial scandal that saw ex-prime minister Najib Razak imprisoned for 12 years for corruption. The party’s current president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, is also on trial for corruption.
UMNO returned to power in March 2020 as part of a mainly Muslim coalition government after the reformist alliance led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad collapsed due to defections.
The new government was unstable due to a razor-thin majority in Parliament, and then-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was forced to resign 17 months later after some UMNO politicians withdrew support for him.
Mr Ismail, who was Mr Muhyiddin’s deputy, was appointed by the king in August 2021 to take over the helm, returning the premiership to UMNO. But UMNO remained at odds with Mr Muhyiddin’s Bersatu and another Islamic ally, who all vie for support from ethnic Malay Muslims who account for more than 60% of Malaysia’s 33 million people.
