THE question of when to choose the government has finally been answered.

For Umno and BN, the justification for dissolution is couched in their slogan of “Kestabilan dan Kemakmuran” (Stability and Prosperity). BN is hoping to replicate its electoral success by offering stability, in a political environment that has been destabilised since 2020.

The message does seem to resonate with voters as a strong and stable governance is something that neither Pakatan Harapan nor Perikatan Nasional can realistically offer.

Most crucially, the spiel has delivered BN two majorities in the recent Malacca and Johor elections.

While BN is already in campaign mode, PH has only just made peace with that decision, mainly because Penang DAP was looking into the possibility of reversing the decision to dissolve the state assembly.

While the issue has been resolved, the prolonged debate over whether the Penang polls should be held simultaneously along with the general election has threatened to reopen old wounds in PH and  hampered its electoral preparations.

This could all have been avoided if PH had not made the crucial mistake of committing itself to not dissolving the assemblies of Selangor, Penang, and Negeri Sembilan.

This was largely a political move to counter Umno’s move to dissolve parliament during the monsoon season.

As PH was charging Umno with disregard for lives and livelihoods by holding an election during the monsoon, the coalition could not possibly do the same.

But except for Sabah, Malacca and Johor, the rest of the state assemblies have served more than four years and would be expiring soon.

PH should also consider that its many protests against a general election could be viewed as cowardice.

First it was the Covid-19 that made assembly impossible. When the pandemic was under control, it was the memorandum of understanding with Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government. And then there was the cost-of-living crisis that the sitting government needed to tackle before going to polls. Finally, we have an impending monsoon season and anticipated floods from which the country’s resources would be diverted away from mitigating.

While some reasons may appear to be legitimate, PH cannot hope to avoid the inevitable forever.

Since a general election is now imminent, there are some who would rightly ask why federal and state elections cannot be held together.

It is the prime minister alone who is responsible for the timing of the election. PH should not have overcommitted to a no-dissolution when the political situation is fluid.

Given that the Penang chapter has different ideas about dissolution, it is clear that PH did not think this through in its efforts to guilt trip Ismail. And now it is feeling skittish about performing another U-turn.

It has been almost a week since parliament was dissolved and yet the only thing we have seen from the PH camp is indecision in granting dissolution to the Penang government.

As opposed to its main rivals, BN already has decided its election slogan and teasing PH for another potential humiliating U-turn.

If PH cannot decide on something as straighforward as the dissolution of the state assembly, how can Malaysians rely on PH to reform our failing institutions and resolve the economic crisis?

The fact that the Penang government has different ideas and dared to defy the decision of the PH presidential council suggests that the no-dissolution plan was poorly considered and made with little consultation.

PH’s indecisiveness could be perceived as the coalition being too busy talking among themselves to tell Malaysians their vision for the country.

PH must show decisiveness to raise public confidence. – October 16, 2022.

* Kenneth Cheng has always been interested in the interplay between human rights and government but more importantly he is a father of two cats, Tangyuan and Toufu. When he is not attending to his feline matters, he is most likely reading books about politics and human rights or playing video games. He is a firm believer in the dictum “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.