MALAYSIA will have snap polls once Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob meets the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve the Dewan Rakyat, Ahmad Maslan said tonight. 

The Umno secretary-general told the press that the party’s Supreme Council discussed the matter for two hours today.

“The dissolution of parliament will be made soon and the general election will be held this year. The prime minister will present the date of the dissolution to the king in the near future,” he said.

“This is in line with Umno’s stand that the mandate should be returned to the people to establish a stable government following the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government due to its own internal crisis in 2020.”

The Pontian MP said with tonight’s Umno Supreme Council consensus, the party’s election machinery across the country has been told to be on standby.

Earlier today, The Malaysian Insight reported that the Umno Supreme Council meeting will decide the probable dates for the dissolution of parliament and the general election, likely in November.

The next parliamentary meeting starts on Monday until November 29, with Budget 2023 to be tabled on Friday, but it is widely expected that parliament will be dissolved as early as October 12.

“Parliament will be dissolved by the second week of October and polls will take place a month after that,” Barisan Nasional leaders told The Malaysian Insight on condition of anonymity.

At noon, Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin uploaded a picture on Facebook showing the party’s top five leaders meeting to discuss the possible dates for the polls.

Ismail, who is Umno vice-president, was also present.

Also in the frame were party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, deputy president Mohamad Hasan and another vice-president, Mahdzir Khalid.

Ahmad said the council had also agreed with the government’s decision to continue probing former attorney-general Tommy Thomas for alleged breach of power.

He revealed that the party is demanding the special task force to divulge the findings of the investigation to the public.

“Make the findings public as the people have the right to know,” he said.

Ismail today said an investigation will be carried out against Thomas under laws governing sedition, official secrets as well as communications and multimedia.

Sections 124(1) and 203A of the penal code will also be used, he said.

In August, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the special task force formed to probe allegations of judicial abuses alleged in Thomas’ book, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, has identified 19 issues requiring immediate government attention.

“It will be tabled to the cabinet and we will have to decide the way forward,” he said in a statement.

However, Wan Junaidi did not indicate whether the report would be made public. – September 30, 2022.