NOT even a week has passed since the Melaka state election ended but rumors of a new state polls has already become a major topic among the politicians.
Talk of the town is not Johor, which had been raised multiple times during the campaigning period in Melaka but the 15th General Election (GE15).
Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, on Sunday, said it was only appropriate that GE15 be held in the near future as it would provide the best chance for Barisan Nasional (BN) based on the people's current sentiments towards the coalition.
He, who is BN deputy chairman, said this has been voiced to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob immediately after BN's landslide victory in the state polls on Sunday. Another Umno leader, its secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan on Monday said that was best to hold GE15 soon picking up the coalition's momentum after winning two-thirds of the state assembly seats.
The Pontian Member of Parliament, however, said further discussions will be carried out with top party leaders and the Prime Minister.
Ahmad's counterpart Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan from Pas meanwhile disagreed, stating that his party will take any reckless steps by demanding GE15 to be held in the near future. Takiyuddin, who is also the Energy and Natural Resources minister, said the decision should be made by the Cabinet and not a political party.
As of Tuesday, neither Pakatan Harapan (PH) or Perikatan Nasional (PN) has spoken on this matter.
It should be noted that the Federal government is formed by BN, PN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak. The government has also Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability (MoU-TPS) with the largest coalition at the moment, PH. Among the main contents of the MoU that was sealed in the Parliament in September is that both parties agreed not to issue the dissolution of the Parliament before July 31, 2022. However, the resistance of MoU issue in stabilizing national politics are seen to be uncertain following a few political figures over several occasions urging party leaders to re-evaluate the agreement in accordance with actions taken by the government.
The decision to hold GE15 is not determined by the party's ability to win elections because Malaysia has yet to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has already warned about the increase of hospital admission rate the to Covid-19 thus it is important that the government and political parties think thoroughly what are the next political moves without risking the lives of the people.