Malaysian Parliament dissolved, elections on

From The Star...

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced that Parliament has been dissolved, paving the way for the 12th general election. 

At a hastily convened press conference at his office Wednesday afternoon, he said he had met the Yang Di Pertuan Agong in the morning and received His Majesty's consent to dissolve Parliament. 

"I've informed Parliament and the Election Commission," Abdullah said. The state assemblies have also been advised to dissolve. 

The Prime Minister declined to speculate on what date Malaysians would cast their ballots, saying that it would be up to the Election Commission (EC) to decide. 

"I am confident of winning, and I hope that we will retain our two-thirds majority," he said. 

The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition swept to a landslide victory in the last general election in 2004. 

Meanwhile, the Election Commission said it would announce polling and nomination day on Thursday at its office in Putrajaya. 

The Election Commission held several meetings Wednesday in preparation for the Prime Minister's announcement of the dissolution of Parliament. 

“We have got the declaration on the dissolution of Parliament by the Yang Di Pertuan Agong and the announcement of nomination and polling will be done tomorrow," said EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman. 

When asked if nomination day was February 21 and election day on March 2nd, he said: “You can speculate anything you want. The official announcement is tomorrow. 

“You wait for the official announcement,” he added. 

Abdul Rashid also said, "We want to make sure of fairness in this election process. We will ensure the appropriate time and space is given for the parties to choose their candidates and for campaigning." 

Election rules
The general election must be held within 60 days of Parliament being dissolved, in accordance with Article 55(4) of the Federal Constitution. 

Once Dewan Rakyat is dissolved, the tenure of all MPs automatically ends, which also means that they stop enjoying the privileges, perks, and powers related to their function. 

Until the next Parliament is convened, the country is run by a caretaker government. 

The caretaker government's role is to keep the government machinery running, and should not involve making policy changes or formulating new legislation.

Earlier when asked by reported, Abdullah was lying to them saying that "Parliament wont't be dissolved today (13/02/08)".

BANGI: Parliament will not be dissolved today.  

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi put an end to such speculation, telling reporters here yesterday: “Esok tak ada (No, it won’t be tomorrow)”. 

He also denied that today’s Cabinet meeting would be the last with his present team of ministers before Parliament is dissolved to pave the way for the next general election. 

“What makes you think that? How do you know it’s going to be the last Cabinet meeting (before elections are called)?” he asked when responding to a question. 

Asked if there would be more Cabinet meetings with the present team, Abdullah said: “Yes, there will be more.” 

The Cabinet meets every Wednesday. The Prime Minister’s comments yesterday means it is still a guessing game as to when the polls would be called. 

Abdullah, who is Barisan Nasional chairman, also said there would be no compromise in picking only clean candidates. 

“In the last elections (2004), there were some people who were potential candidates, but they were being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). Their files were with the ACA, so I did not choose them,” he said. 

He said he wanted a clean team of candidates and would ask the ACA to run a check on some of the potential candidates. 

“I will get a report from the ACA, whether they are clear or not,” he said. 

However, he would not be handing over a list of potential candidates to the ACA. “Nanti orang tahu susah pulak (It might be difficult if the names became known).” 

Instead, he would ask the ACA to run checks on individuals here and there. 

On the Election Commission’s move to allow recounts if there were a 4% difference in the winning vote, instead of a mere 2% as had been the practice, Abdullah said the ruling coalition accepted the decision. 

“We follow whatever the EC decides,” he added.