KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — UMNO feels that it is still possible for the 15th general election (GE15) to be held before mid-November, its secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said.
However, he said the party will leave it to the discretion of the Election Commission to set the date.
“UMNO is of the view the dissolution of Parliament is the best way since it is becoming increasingly clear that representatives of the other coalition parties are not showing solidarity for the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob) in the administration of the country.
“Declaring UMNO and BN (Barisan Nasional) as the main enemy only reflects the distrust and disrespect towards UMNO which helms the government,” he said when reading his media statement after the UMNO Supreme Council special meeting here tonight.
Earlier today, Ismail Sabri in a special announcement said he had obtained the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to dissolve the 14th Parliament during an audience at Istana Negara yesterday afternoon.
Ahmad also said that UMNO expresses its gratitude and thanks to Al-Sultan Abdullah for consenting to the dissolution of Parliament.
“UMNO respects Tuanku’s command and even holds a similar position that the country cannot be allowed to continue to be in a state of political uncertainty, and that the mandate should be returned to the people for them to elect a government that can guarantee the stability and prosperity of the country,” he said.
On what was discussed in the Supreme Council meeting, Ahmad said it mainly pertained to the party’s GE15 election machinery and strategies.
“The meeting also agreed that the main theme of the (BN) manifesto for GE15 is ‘Stability and Prosperity’, which had also been used during the Malacca and Johor State Elections before this. It will be brought to the BN Supreme Council for approval,” he said.
Separately, he said the UMNO general assembly scheduled for Nov 23-26 will now be held on another date to be announced later.
