KUALA LUMPUR: Both the government and the opposition need to make a political compromise to revive the economy, rather than urging for dissolution of Parliament and for the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held as soon as possible, according to analysts.
Dr Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub said, right now, both sides should be focusing on doing everything they could to implement all that had been planned for the people.
“There needs to be a clear consensus, in this current context, for the government or the opposition to agree with each other to ensure that the interests of the people be placed above all others,” he told Bernama.
Dr Mohammad Tawfik, who is a lecturer at Universiti Malaya’s Department of Administrative and Political Studies, said the GE15 should not be held too soon or too late as it could also be held after the tabling of the 2023 Budget.
“For me, that will be the right time. I think the Election Commission (EC) should also be given ample time (for preparations) to conduct the GE15,” he said.
The current government’s five-year mandate will expire on July 15, 2023, and the GE15 must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of the Parliament.
Prior to this, several political leaders had been urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to call for GE15 soon, but he was of the opinion that now was not a suitable time to hold GE15 as the country is still struggling with various issues, such as the rising cost of living.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Youth Council president Mohd Izzat Afifi Abdul Hamid opined that the current situation was not suitable for GE15 as solving problems faced by the people should be the main focus of all politicians.
“The people want stability to be restored as soon as possible so that the government and the entire country can focus on ways to solve the people’s problems rather than merely discussing politics. So, if we can put it (GE15) on hold for the time being, then that would be the best (way).
“For me personally, I don’t think now is a suitable time for GE15 as stability should be restored as soon as possible by looking at the bigger picture,” he said.
Echoing Mohd Izzat’s views, BIMB Securities economist Imran Nurginias said the government should focus on the agenda to help the people as current inflation had caused an increase in the cost of living.
He said there were many things that the government should take into account in addressing the people’s problems after the pandemic and holding the GE15 now would only hamper the effort.
“When we hold a general election and change the government, everything that the current government are doing will have no continuity. I think the government have to come up with policies to safeguard the people and implement it properly first before we are ready for an election,” he said.
Apart from that, Imran also opined that the GE15, if being held soon, would also disrupt the country’s economic recovery process.
He said the country’s economic performance data in the first quarter of this year showed an encouraging recovery rate and this was evident when the value of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth showed an increase of five per cent compared to -0.5 per cent in the same quarter last year (3.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021).
Private consumption also showed an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to -1.5 per cent in the same quarter last year (1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021), he said.
“If we look at the data, all are showing good numbers. That basically shows that there is confidence in our government now. Having an election now can jeopardise this. With an election, there are a lot of uncertainties as we don’t know who will win and what their policies may be,” he added. — Bernama
