KUALA LUMPUR: The United Malays National Organisation UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the party respects the prerogative of the prime minister to advise the Malaysian king on the dissolution of parliament.
That is not the power of the party. We respect the prerogative of the prime minister. If possible, I would prefer it done yesterday, Ahmad Zahid told reporters on Tuesday, October 4 after meeting with UMNO division leaders at the party headquarters.
Ahmad Zahid was asked if the party had given Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob a deadline to seek a dissolution of parliament.
After the budget is approved on Friday, speculation is strong that Mr Ismail Sabri may dissolve the parliament.
Under the Federal Constitution, the prime minister has the right to decide when the election is going to take place, although the king must first give his consent to dissolve parliament.
Ahmad Zahid was confident that the king would be guided by the constitution in giving his consent to the request from the prime minister.
The king would act in accordance with the Federal Constitution and we are confident that the king will consent to the dissolution based on what is best for the people, said Ahmad Zahid.
Ahmad Zahid, who is facing 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering, said the meeting with the UMNO leaders from its 191 divisions would be the last before Malaysia s 15th General Election GE 15 He said that the candidates to stand in GE 15 would be decided by the party's top five leaders and that they would be based on the criteria of electability, acceptability, and likeability.
He said that anyone who meets these criteria can become a candidate for UMNO and represent Barisan Nasional, but he said that no candidate from the party would belong to any particular cluster. Ismail Sabri, who had previously confirmed that he will have an audience with the king on Thursday, has previously confirmed that he will have an audience with the king.
He didn't specify any particular agenda for his meeting with the king, but he did say that the decision on when to dissolve parliament is his prerogative as prime minister.