Two-thirds in question but BN could wrest one or two states, says Dr M
November 18, 2010
Dr Mahathir says the opposition is in shambles at the moment. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has predicted Barisan Nasional (BN) may win back one or two states from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the next general election because he says the “opposition is in shambles,” according to a Bloomberg report today.
But he said BN “may not get the two-thirds majority which would enable them to rule the country with a strong majority.”
He told Bloomberg in an interview here conducted on Tuesday that BN “might be able to recover maybe one or two states.”
Dr Mahathir’s remarks come amid intense speculation that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will call snap polls by the first quarter of next year.
Yesterday, The Malaysian Insider had reported that the BN supreme council will meet this Saturday to chart campaign plans as the ruling coalition prepares itself for a possible snap election next year.
Sources within BN told The Malaysian Insider that the coming months are deemed important as party leaders seek to take advantage of problems plaguing Pakatan Rakyat (PR), especially in PKR with the exit of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
“Everything is geared for the next general election,” a source told The Malaysian Insider when asked about the significance of the supreme council meeting.
BN’s twin wins in two recent by-elections, snapping a run of successive defeats to PR parties, has also boosted the confidence of parties in the ruling coalition.
“At the moment his party is in a shambles,” Dr Mahathir was quoted by Bloomberg today as saying in reference to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR.
In the Bloomberg report, Dr Mahathir called Najib a “vast improvement” over his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
BN is still looking to solve three pressing issues — the Port Klang Free Zone case, Anwar’s second sodomy trial and Teoh Beng Hock’s mysterious death — before considering a call for snap elections.
The Malaysian Insider understands that BN leaders have privately agreed that these issues, together with the soft economy, need to be addressed before the ruling federal coalition is confident of dissolving Parliament for the country’s 13th general election, which is not due until March 2013.
The Malaysian Insider had also reported that Umno warlords and key aides have been telling Najib to delay any idea of snap polls to secure his personal mandate.
Opponents to an early election said Najib should not assume his personal popularity meant that Umno was now more acceptable to the people.
The country’s economy grew 9.5 per cent in the first half of the year and the Najib administration believes that Malaysia can exceed its six per cent growth target for 2010.
BN has up to May 2013 to call for the 13th general election, five years after the March 8, 2008 general election that cost the ruling federal coalition four more states and 82 federal seats - The Malaysian Insider
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