PM to meet BN MPs over snap polls
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak is scheduled to meet with all Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers next Saturday as speculation is rife that the prime minister will call for snap polls this year.
The BN chairman will meet with all 136 other MPs to gather feedback on holding early elections as leaders of the ruling coalition appear to be divided on possible dates. He is now on holiday in the Middle East.
“Najib will meet with each BN MP for five minutes on January 8. With 137 MPs, the meetings will be over 11 hours so it could drag into Sunday,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
A BN MP confirmed the meeting, saying Najib had asked them to present an overview of preparations in their respective constituencies.
“We have to give a report. But five minutes is a short time unless everyone is confident and say everything is okay,” the MP told The Malaysian Insider on condition of anonymity.
The 13th general election is widely expected to be held in the first quarter of this year during the March school holidays but BN is now said to be considering to hold it much later when a slew of economic projects start to boost the local economy.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib, earlier last month discussed with BN component leaders in Parliament on holding the next general election in either May or June.
“During a recent cabinet meeting, it was agreed that the elections may be held during the second week of June. If not, it might be pushed to November,” a source confirmed with The Malaysian Insider.
However recent developments have prompted lawmakers intent to serve out their term lobby for elections to be held next year instead.
“Senior MPs are looking to profit from the various projects before the election. They are also spreading rumours to junior MPs would not be eligible for pension if election was called,” a source added.
According to the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act 1980, a lawmaker may only be granted pension if he has 36 months of “reckonable service” under his belt.
Najib’s advisors are pressing for the election to be held in early June due to fears that a predicted slow global economy could affect the local economy in the third quarter.
The country’s sixth prime minister has introduced a slew of projects to reinvigorate the country’s economy despite predictions of a slowdown.
The projects include the RM36 billion mass rapid transit (MRT) system, PNB’s RM5 billion Warisan Merdeka Tower, the RM26 billion KL International Financial District, a RM3 billion integrated eco-resort in Karambunai, Sabah, construction of multiple new highways and the development of the 1,084-hectare Rubber Research Institute (RRI) land in Sungai Buloh.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has recently forecast a growth rate of 5 per cent for the Malaysian economy this year, a percentage point below the long-term growth target set by the administration.
The bank said Malaysia grew rapidly in the first half of 2010 partly due to the low base-effect as the economy had contracted in the first half of 2009, and leading indicators such as industrial production and retail sales have already been moderating.
Under Najib’s plan to make the country a high-income nation, Malaysia needs to grow at 6 per cent per year to reach a per capita gross national income of US$15,000 (RM46,500) by 2020.
“The V-shaped recovery has run its course in emerging East Asia and the challenge for the region is to put in place national policies that will translate swift recovery into long-term growth,” said Iwan Azis, Head of ADB’s Office of Regional Economic Integration which prepared the report.
