GE15: Suddenly calling for election may be unfair to rakyat, says analyst

SHAH ALAM - With the country already facing political fatigue and the people feeling frustrated with the current political situation, other problems such as the economy and floods add to the plate.

Political expert Professor Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said he preferred the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held next year as it would be more stable for the people to come out and vote.

He acknowledged the fact that many were frustrated with Malaysia’s political turmoil, but he was mostly worried about the economic implications.

He said next year would be a tough year for the global economy so the focus now should be on having a stable government to prepare for next year’s economic recession.

He said having GE15 this year would also burden the people as they were usually busy, especially at the end of the year as they might have a lot of plans scheduled.

“At the end of the year, people would be performing umrah, travelling, school holidays, so most people are busy,” he said.

He also suggested for the election system to be reformed and have a fixed election date like in the United States, adding that not having a fixed election date would lead to massive uncertainties.

“The people are also not ready to suddenly have elections. Like now, the government suddenly dissolves so they have to reschedule their plans,” he said.

Asked about his prediction on when the states of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Pas would be dissolved, he said it would be difficult to predict as it depended on each state.

“Since this has never happened before, it's difficult for me to predict who will be affected most by this decision,” he said.

He said it would be better for each state to discuss with one another matters of state elections.

He also said the issue with state elections will also involve the government machinery in helping the Election Commission because with one election following another, the situation will be haywire.

He said if state elections were to happen next year, they should happen at the same time or the people might not turn up to vote which will be detrimental to the country.

On the unprecedented event of most State Assemblies not dissolving before GE15, Azizuddin said he was unsure of its impact on both the people and the political parties.

However, he said if state elections took place next year and coincidentally happened at the same time as Umno’s party elections, it would not be good for them.

“I think it’s going to be troublesome for them because this will distract them from focusing on their party election,” he said.

He said before state elections could happen next year, each state needed to resolve their problems first.

“Like in Pahang, the Sultan decided to proceed with the budget first rather than election because the budget has yet to be tabled in the State Assembly,” he said.