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April 7th, 2018 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Malaysia’s scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak announced Friday that Parliament will be dissolved to pave the way for snap-general elections in May that will pit his ruling coalition against an opposition led by former PM Mahatir Mohamad.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is widely expected to win the snap elections in May, even despite the fact that he and his administration have been plagued by a cohort of high-profile scandals for some years now. That said, speaking of a “revived opposition” led by the 93-year-old former PM Mahatir Mohamad may explain at least some of Najib Razak and his coalition’s apparent “vitality”.
Mahatir Mohamad was Asia’s longest-serving premier for 22 years before he retired in 2003. Mahatir has turned against Najib, his former protegé, over a corruption scandal. Mahatir may not be as powerful as he once was, but his name is still “drawing crowds”.
In a televised address, Najib said that he obtained consent from Malaysia’s king to dissolve Parliament on Saturday, ahead of the expiry of his government’s five-year mandate on June 24.
Malaysia’s Election Commission is expected to meet within a week to set a polling date. Voting must be held within two months but widely expected in early May before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“This election primarily is about Najib. The result will determine his political future. If he worsens his performance, there are leaders who will emerge,” said Bridget Welsh, political science professor at John Cabot University in Rome. “Given the baggage Najib has going into this election, he will need a big win to stay safe.”
Can the 93-year-old Mahatir “revive” a viable opposition?
Najib has clung on to power despite being embroiled in a corruption scandal that involved hundreds of millions of dollars passing through his bank accounts believed linked to the 1MDB state fund. He denies any wrongdoing and has been cleared by the attorney-general who said the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family.
Najib and his administration have also attracted national and international criticism over the scandalous laws that allowed Malaysia Airlines to be re-constructed and re-registered, leaving the old company, responsible for the aftermath of the crashes of flights MH370 and MH17 as an empty shell, unable to compensate victims appropriately.
The National Front lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority in 2008 polls. In 2013, it secured its lowest number of parliamentary seats and lost the popular vote for the first time to the opposition — its poorest results in more than five decades of uninterrupted rule since independence from Britain in 1957. It currently holds 132 out of 222 parliamentary seats.
However, many analysts expect that the 64-year-old will win a third term, not least due to recent electoral boundary changes, a relatively buoyant economy. The opposition also has not yet managed to gain much ground in eastern Sabah and Sarawak states on Borneo island, which account for a quarter of parliamentary seats. With snap-elections coming in May, there won’t be much time to change that situation.
MH17 crash “difficult to cope with” for Najib, but not to difficult to defraud the victims of the MH370 and MH17 crashes?
Najib has much of his power-base among rural Malays and it is unclear how much influence Mahathir has among rural Malays. On Thursday, Mahathir’s nascent political party was dealt a blow after it was ordered to temporarily disband for failing to submit adequate documents for registration requirements.
Mahathir accused Najib of terrorizing his opponents to win the polls. He announced late Friday that the opposition alliance will become a single political force with all candidates contesting under the banner of the People’s Justice Party, one of four parties in the alliance, and led by his jailed former deputy Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar Ibrahim, who was jailed on a sodomy charge he claimed was politically motivated, is expected to be released in June. “Should Najib win this election through his tricks and cheating, then we can kiss goodbye to democracy,” Mahathir said. “When we are united, we can oust this rogue.”
Najib urged Malaysians in his 25-minute speech to give his coalition a strong mandate to ensure a brighter future. He spelt out his government’s achievements since he took power in 2009, and appealed to more than 14.8 million voters to act rationally and not with emotions. Najib claimed:
“I can boldly say that we have delivered and we will continue to deliver … I pledge we will develop the entire country from Perlis (state) to Sarawak (state) so that not one area or citizen will be left behind.. If we win again, we pledge to do our best by carrying out a bigger, more inclusive and comprehensive transformation for the people and the country.”
Malaysia is in many regards at a crossroads, and it isn’t just corruption or the danger of politicized Islam and Islamism that threatens democracy. Journalists and other media workers are increasingly coming under fire after Parliament rushed through an “anti-fake-news-bill” that would punish offenders -conveyors of inconvenient truths – with a six-year jail term.
The U.S. and several other countries are investigating allegations of cross-border embezzlement and money laundering at 1MDB, which was set up and previously led by Najib to promote economic development but which accumulated billions in debt. The U.S. Justice Department says at least $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by associates of Najib and it is working to seize $1.7 billion allegedly taken from the fund to buy assets in the U.S.
CH/L – nsnbc 07.04.2018
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2018/04/07/malaysian-pm-najib-razak-dissolved-parliament-calls-for-early-elections-in-may/
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