Malaysian PM dissolves parliament and calls for early elections

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of parliament on Monday, paving the way for general elections expected in early November.

The elections will be held nine months before the expiration of parliament’s term after Mr Ismail’s United Malays group called for early polls. Umno, the largest party in the ruling coalition, has been at odds with its allies and is aiming for a big win of its own.

Mr Ismail said he met Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmed Shah on Sunday, who agreed to dissolve. Amid criticism of his government’s legitimacy, he said, he decided to go ahead with the polls — the third time since 2018.

“With this announcement, the mission will be returned to the people. The mission of the people is a powerful antidote to a steadfast and stable government,” he said in a televised announcement.

The electoral commission is expected to meet within a week to announce the polling date, which could be held before the year-end monsoon season that often brings devastating floods.

Umno’s allies in the government and opposition parties have protested any plans to hold elections during the monsoon season, which killed more than 50 people and displaced thousands last year.

But the party’s top leader recently decided that polls must be held this year so Umno can take advantage of the return of ethnic Malay voters and a chaotic opposition.

Bridget Wales, a Southeast Asia expert at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said: “Ismail Sabri bowed to pressure from his party, Umno, to serve as prime minister for the shortest term and to enter the country for polls during a dangerous season of monsoon flooding.

“UMNO sees it as having an advantage in the early polls and has kept the pressure on as they look to return to power with the dominant party.”

Umno, which has led Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, collapsed in a 2018 election over a multibillion-dollar financial scandal that saw former prime minister Najib Razak jailed for 12 years for corruption. The party’s current chairman, Ahmed Zahid Hamidi, is also on trial for corruption.

Umno returned to power in March 2020 as part of a predominantly Muslim coalition government after the reformist coalition led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad collapsed due to defections.

The new government was unstable due to a slim majority in parliament, and 17 months later, then-Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was forced to resign after some Umno politicians withdrew their support for him.

Mr Ismail, who is Mr Muhyiddin’s deputy, was appointed by the king to take over the helm in August 2021, returning the prime ministership to Umno. But Umno remains at odds with Mr Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party and another Islamist ally, both vying for the support of ethnic Malay Muslims, who make up more than 60 percent of Malaysia’s 33 million people.