Polls likely late 2012 to maximise victory, say BN insiders
(TMI) – A general election is only possible as early as the second half of the year as Datuk Seri Najib Razak is seeking a bigger win for his mandate, with ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) officials saying the prime minister is only confident of a slim majority if polls are held now.
The BN chairman had dismissed talk of dissolving the parliament as early as this week, just days after influential former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also advised for more time to galvanise support for the ruling coalition.
The Malaysian Insider understands that several internal projections have put BN as likely to repeat winning the same number of parliament seats as in Election 2008 if elections are held soon. The BN only won 140 federal seats in Election 2008, losing its customary two-thirds majority and also four more states.
“Datuk Seri Najib is not taking chances for snap polls. He can wait as the ground is not ready yet,” a BN source told The Malaysian Insider. BN has up to April 2013 to call a general election.
The source added the Najib administration believes it was too risky to call elections now due to the fallout from the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal and the foul-up in salary revisions for the 1.4 million-strong civil service.
“The NFC scandal is hurting BN badly. There must be a quick resolution soon,” he said.
Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/polls-likely-late-2012-to-maximise-victory-say-bn-insiders/
