Malaysian Parliament to be dissolved soon?

(Xinhua) — Malaysian Supreme Head Mizan Zainal Abidin officiated the first meeting of the fourth session of 12th Malaysian Parliament in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

The meeting, to many, particularly politicians, is likely to be the last session of the 12th Malaysian Parliament as they believe the next national poll is imminent, given the recent political development in the country.

The opening ceremony of the meeting was preceded by the winning of two by-elections by Barisan Nasional (BN), the country’s federal ruling coalition, on Sunday.

Since the last general election in March 2008, the country has run 16 by-elections, where BN has cumulatively won eight.

In the most recent battles, poll results showed that BN had garnered more support than it did in the March general election three years ago, with votes from ethnic Chinese and Indian increasing.

This is very much contrary to the scenario in 2008, when most of the Chinese and Indian voters were said to have voted for the opposition for being discontent with the unfair treatment they have been experiencing.

Najib Razak, who took office as Malaysian Prime Minister in April 2009, has been sparing no effort to get the Malaysia spirit preached by him inculcated among Malaysians in order to strengthen unity in the multi-racial country.

A series of transformation programs have also been rolled out to cater to the needs of the people, regardless of race and background, including increasing education access, lifting urban poverty, combating crime, raising Malaysians’ income and fighting corruption.

Apparently, from the recent poll results, Najib’s advocacy is well received among members of the public.

The prime minister, who has been refusing to confirm the date of the next general election, said last week that he did not rule out the possibility of bringing forward the national poll, although one is not due until March 2013.

This has ignited more speculations among political pundits and media workers that the parliament will be dissolved to pave way for the next election, especially with the existence of several feel good factors.

Malaysia gross domestic product growth in 2010 outperformed the targeted six percent by achieving 7.2 percent, as announced by the Malaysian central bank late February.

According to local media, Najib is scheduled to announce more entry point projects under the country’s economic transformation program later this month, which would see the creation of high valued job and investment opportunities.

Najib and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin will also engage the grassroots in the Sarawak State in East Malaysia this month.

While the Sarawak State election must be held by July this year, state Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud hinted that polls at the state level would be held soon.

As the political sentiment among the electorates seems to be in favor of the ruling coalition, a landslide winning by BN in the state election will definitely raise the possibility of running a snap polls at the national level soon.

BN suffered massive defeat in the last general election, losing two-thirds majority in the parliament. Besides the Kelantan State, which has been ruled by the opposition since 1990, four other states also fell into the hands of the opposition in the general election.

Speaking at a press conference Monday morning after the opening of the parliament session, Najib extended his gratitude to the voters that had cast their votes to BN.

The prime minister also hoped that the winning of the by- elections served as a good omen in the Sarawak State election, which is generally perceived as the barometer for national election.

An analyst from a political party, which is a member of BN, told Xinhua that BN is likely to regain two-thirds majority in the parliament in next election, but it is still tough for BN to win back all opposition-led states.

More need to be done to ensure that the feel good sentiment the people are experiencing could be sustained, the analyst said, adding that the culture of good governance and social fairness must be further instilled.