Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob waves from a car as he leaves Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 21, 2021, after the inauguration ceremony. REUTERS KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will have a routine meeting with the country's king on Thursday, as he faces calls to call an election ahead of schedule this year, a spokesman said.
The election isn't due until September 2023 but Ismail is under pressure from some factions of his ruling coalition to hold the vote earlier for a stronger mandate and due to infighting.
Ismail's government is scheduled to present its budget to Parliament on Friday, according to the finance ministry, putting to rest speculation that a dissolution could be announced before then.
Ismail will meet the king at 1600 local time, 0800 GMT, for his weekly audience, the premier's spokesperson told Reuters.
The PM has had a routine meeting with the king before the cabinet meeting, so it's just a normal routine meeting, the spokesperson said. They did not say anything about whether Ismail would seek to dissolve the parliament.
Last week, Ismail's United Malays National Organisation, which forms the biggest part of the ruling coalition, said the premier will seek King Al-Sultan Abdullah's consent to dissolve parliament this year, leading to speculation that Ismail could call for polls any day.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and the king usually acts on the advice of the prime minister. The king has certain discretionary powers, including withholding consent for the dissolution of the parliament.
There has been calls from the public, opposition and even some ruling party lawmakers to hold off from having an election at the end of the year due to the seasonal monsoon rains and floods.
Malaysia was hit with unusually heavy rain last year and floods that caused around 6 billion ringgit US $1.30 billion in damage.
On Thursday morning, the King visited the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre and was briefed by various government agencies about weather conditions and flood preparation, according to state news agency Bernama.
The closed-door briefing was held at the request of the king, according to Bernama.
Some cabinet ministers have written to the king this week, asking him not to hold elections this year because of flood risks, according to local media.