Risky for BN to delay dissolving Parliament, says Najib

Barisan Nasional (BN) advisory board chairman Najib Razak says the coalition will have to shoulder risks if it continues to delay the dissolution of Parliament.

The former prime minister said he had gone through a similar experience before, which led to declining support for BN and, eventually, its first ever defeat, at the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018.

He said he did not want the same fate to befall BN in GE15 as the current government’s tenure will expire next year.

BN consists of Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).

“When will GE15 be held? I am not sure but I want to share this for the first time. I want to confess that we should have held GE14 after the 2017 SEA Games and maybe BN might have won big, but we delayed, and when we deferred, the situation changed,” he said at the BN convention in conjunction with its 48th anniversary celebration in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Also present were Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan and the leaders of other component parties.

On the date for GE15, Najib, who is Pekan MP, said he hoped the Umno “top five” would discuss the matter and help the prime minister decide on the right time for dissolving Parliament to pave the way for polls, because the risks are too high.

The top five refers to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, deputy president Mohamad Hasan and vice-presidents Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Mahdzir Khalid and Ismail.