BERA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has shot down talks that the 15th General Election (GE15) is just around the corner.
He said any decision to call for GE15 will be discussed at the party level and it should not be influenced by a small group of people who demand an election to be held soonest.
"I do not know (anytime soon) and there has been no decision on GE15 at the moment. I have mentioned during my previous speech at Umno meetings that the election will be held only when we are ready.....in terms of readiness it will be discussed by Umno's leadership as there are a lot of factors that have to be looked into.
"We cannot hold GE15 just because one small group is shouting for elections to be held. Discussions on elections is a major thing and it has to be seriously discussed in the party.....the party will discuss and decide," he said,
Ismail Sabri told this to reporters after launching the Keluarga Malaysia Driving Licence Assistance (BLKM) for the needy which includes the B40 and Orang Asli at the Bera Rakan Muda complex here today.
The Bera member of parliament said certain procedures have to be adhered to when dissolving Parliament for election.
"Just because we want to hold the elections, we cannot simply rush as there are procedures including, meeting the King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah) to seek consent...if the King agrees then it will be dissolved," he said.
When pressed further on whether parliament will be dissolved this year or next year, Ismail Sabri, who is the Umno vice-president, said he did not know and it will only be called once everyone is prepared.
"Once we are ready then we can decide...ready can mean anything (different interpretations)," he said.
On DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke's suggestion to consider extending the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Transformation and Political Stability signed between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the government beyond the July 31 deadline, Ismail Sabri said it was still too early to decide on it.
"Do not speculate about it as the time has not come yet. We will take into consideration all the views as the priority is in serving the people,' he said.
On Umno's annual general assembly which begins on March 16, Ismail Sabri said the direction of the party including their ties with Muafakat Nasional (MN) will be discussed during the four-day meeting.
"We will wait for the party president's (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) speech along with the debates from the other delegates. Due to the recent developments including the victory at the recent state elections, the party direction and objective could be different compared to the president's speech was last year," he said.
He added that a resolution will be made based on the motions debated during the assembly.
Following BN's victory in Melaka and Johor, some quarters have been calling for an early general election taking advantage of the momentum from the two-state polls and popularity of the coalition.
Last night, BN supporters present at the party command centre in Johor had chanted "Dissolve, dissolve" (dissolve parliament) when Ismail Sabri arrived at the centre.