JOHOR BARU: Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who is also party vice-president to consider the call for the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held as soon as possible.
While noting that the Prime Minister has the prerogative to call for an election, Mohamad said as one of the leaders in Umno, Ismail Sabri should consider the demands made by the party.
"Umno will push (for GE15) but it is up to the Prime Minister to make the final decision. As a party leader, how can he not listen to the party, right?
"At the same time, even if the Prime Minister advised the Agong to dissolve the Parliament, the King could say no to the request and if this happens, it means that the Agong no longer has confidence in that Prime Minister and by convention, the Prime Minister must step down.
"These are the things the Prime Minister needs to consider, including the demands made by Umno. If there is no more confidence, then the solution would be for him to resign," he said.
Mohamad said this to a question by an Umno member in Machap constituency here, after his speech to the party election machinery.
Later, at a press conference, when asked if Umno would push for GE15 if the party won the Johor state election on March 12, Mohamad said the demand would be made regardless of whether Umno wins or loses in the polls.
"Regardless, we will push for it and the reason for this is not because we are power-hungry but to provide stability in this country, especially in Johor because this is the state that brought a lot of investments to the country.
"But now, we are losing our investors because of our political instability. We believe that with stability, the people will feel confident in the government again."
The Johor state legislative assembly was dissolved on Jan 22 after Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar gave his consent. Following that, the Election Commission announced March 12 as the polling day.