Malaysian PM dissolves Parliament amid political instability

KUALA LUMPUR, October 10

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday dissolved Parliament and called for an early election, aiming to win a stronger mandate and end political instability since the multi-billion dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal and Covid crisis.

The ruling United Malays National Organisation’s rush to hold polls that had been due by September next year comes as some of its leaders face the prospect of long jail terms over graft charges.

Factions pressing Ismail to hold early elections support former premier Najib Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, both of whom were charged with corruption after UMNO lost power in the 2018 election. They say they are victims of a political vendetta.

Opposition politicians fear the election could become a vehicle for disgraced politicians like Najib — who was jailed in August — to find a way back into positions of influence, and undermine reforms aimed at fighting corruption.

In a televised speech, Yaakob, Malaysia’s third PM since the last election in 2018, said the country’s constitutional monarch, King Al-Sultan Abdullah, had agreed to his request to dissolve Parliament on Monday. The election commission said it would meet soon to discuss a date. King Al-Sultan Abdullah said he was disappointed with the political developments and urged the commission to hold polls as soon as possible given the onset of monsoon rains in mid-November. Polls must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of Parliament. — Reuters