DAP’s secretary-general reminded Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to choose a proper date and not fall to pressure from Umno chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. 

Anthony Loke Siew Fook said DAP is ready to face the general election at any time, and said Ismail should not be worried about Zahid or other Umno leaders who want the Bera MP to dissolve parliament as soon as possible.

“Ismail still has the backing from Pakatan Harapan (PH) so Ismail should not be worried about Zahid,” he said during a special DAP congress in Shah Alam today.

The congress today is to make amendments to the party constitution to outlaw party-hopping. Loke said this is in line with the amendments made to the Federal Constitution and hopes all DAP members today would support this initiative. 

Zahid had been pressuring Ismail to call for elections and had even said polls can take place during the monsoon season.

Ismail had previously responded saying he would be making an announcement on the election date soon after meeting with Umno’s top five leaders.

Loke also told Ismail that if he dared dissolve parliament during the monsoon season, Umno would be punished by voters. 

He urged Ismail to act and decide as a prime minister, not as an Umno member. 

“DAP is not afraid to face an election – we can even fight tomorrow – but I dare Ismail to call for the general election during flood season.

“Ismail, you are the prime minister, you should act as a prime minister and not follow orders from your party.

“If he dares to do so, his party Umno will be punished heavily by the people. We are not asking Ismail to dissolve (parliament), but we need to prioritise the people,” said Loke.

Loke reiterated that DAP is committed to PH and will contest under its banner. 

He said the PH presidential council has agreed to use a common logo in the polls. 

“DAP is fully committed to PH and we will contest under the PH banner including using one common logo to face other parties in the elections,” said Loke. – September 25, 2022.