VIEWS of political parties regarding the dissolution of Parliament cannot influence the power of the prime minister to advise the king, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

According to Ismail, he cannot be swayed by the call from several parties for the dissolution of Parliament.

He said the decision to dissolve Parliament should not involve open discussion, only if the prime minister feels Parliament should be dissolved.

“The decision to dissolve Parliament has nothing to do with other political parties. It was never discussed openly before.

“Parliament dissolves when the prime minister announces the dissolution.

“No political parties ever gave their opinions or interfered. Never. It was never discussed within the (ruling) party, let alone with others,” he said in Shah Alam today.

Ismail said he has the power to advise the king to dissolve parliament, but it is the king who has the absolute power to make it happen.

“Some say it should be dissolved before the tabling of Budget 2023, some say it should be on Monday after the tabling, some say next month, some say next year, so much speculation. Let’s just wait,” he said.

Meanwhile, he reiterated that there was no expiry date for the MOU on transformation and political stability, which will stand until parliament is dissolved. – Bernama, October 4, 2022.