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The General Manager of Malaysia dissolves parliament and calls for quick polls | DayDayNews World News

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

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

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

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

The Electoral Commission is expected to meet within a week to announce the polling date, which must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of parliament. It is likely to take place before the year-end monsoon season, which usually brings devastating flooding.

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

“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 floods,” said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia.

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

Umno, which has led Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, was crippled by a multibillion-dollar financial scandal in the 2018 elections, with 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.

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

Muhyiddin’s deputy Ismail 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 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.

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