KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Barisan Nasional (BN) advisory board chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak said BN would have to shoulder risks if it continues to delay the dissolution of Parliament.

The former prime minister said he had gone through a similar experience before which led to declining support for BN and eventually its first ever defeat, in the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018.

Therefore, he did not want the same fate to befall BN in GE15 as the current government’s tenure will expire next year. BN consists of Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).

"When will GE15 be held? I am not sure, but I want to share this for the first time. I want to confess that we should have held GE14 after the 2017 SEA Games and maybe BN might have won big, but we delayed and when we deferred, the situation changed,” he said.

He said this in his speech at the BN convention held in conjunction with the 48th anniversary celebration of the coalition here today. Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, BN deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and leaders of other component parties.

On the date for GE15, Najib, who is Pekan Member of Parliament, hoped the Umno ‘top five’ would discuss the matter and help the prime minister decide on the right time for dissolving Parliament to pave the way for polls because the risks are too high.

The top five refer to Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and vice-presidents Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Ismail Sabri. — Bernama