Kit Siang: Umno will be tempted to push for early GE15 following big win in Melaka

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 — Based on the 15th Melaka state election results, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said that Umno now would be tempted to push for the 15th national general election (GE15) to happen as early as possible. 

However, in a statement today, he said pushing for GE15 early would be a serious misjudgement on Umno’s side to break its confidence-supply-reform (CSR) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) and expect similar results as the Melaka state elections. 

“But this could be a fatal mistake.

“It may be a serious misjudgement to expect a repeat of the Melaka General Election results, where Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition won big over the other two coalitions, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional (PN), in the 15th national general elections for a variety of reasons,” he said. 

The Iskandar Puteri MP said that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s position as leader of the country would also be shaky should his party push for an early GE15. 

“The coming weeks and months will determine whether Umno leaders have their way to have early 15th general election, which is a complex problem as there is no guarantee that Ismail Sabri will be the Umno Prime Minister after the 15th General Election even if Barisan Nasional succeeds in winning the majority to form the Federal Government,” he said. 

He added that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s latest scandal involving the government giving him a property worth RM100 million in Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur came in a little too late to sway the results of the Melaka state elections. 

“The RM100 million housing scandal of Najib Razak came too late to make any impact on the Malacca general election voting or it might have made a greater difference in the outcome if the expose had come a few days earlier,” he said. 

BN yesterday won big in the Melaka polls yesterday, winning 21 seats from a total of 28.

With 21 seats, BN can comfortably form the state government without entering into negotiations or forming a pact with another coalition, especially estranged allies in Perikatan Nasional (PN).