How you can be sure the Malaysian election date will be...
Najib Razak has until August to call a vote, but the feel good factor of the Chinese New Year, an expected visit by Xi Jinping, and the release of a jailed nemesis mean there’s a sweet spot on his calendar
Malaysians have a new favourite pastime these days – guessing when Prime Minister Najib Razak will call the next general election. The vote is due by next August but for months the premier, who has full power to decide when it will be held, has blown hot and cold about triggering a snap contest.
Amid high political tension, speculation over whether Najib would call an election went into overdrive last Sunday, when he convened a last minute press conference.
Alas, it was a false alarm: Najib – leader of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition – was announcing the return of Mohammad Taib, a senior politician who had defected to the opposition years earlier.
Since late last year, the premier has revelled in gleefully teasing the public and the opposition over when he might call the election. He showcased this approach when journalists earlier this month suggested the timing was right for a snap poll. He retorted: “Is that so? Hold on lah ... I might get a brainwave, inshallah.”