Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak can "cleanse" the negative perception towards him, his family and administration by calling for a snap election, said Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamad ( below ).

"The prime minister (can) take a shortcut to dissolve parliament and hold snap election to cleanse the negative perception by getting a new mandate.

"The question that arises is whether BN and Umno's rule is assured with the snap election," the Umno lawmaker stated in a blog posting today.

When met by reporters this afternoon, Nur Jazlan denied suggestions that he was asking Najib to step down as prime minister.

Najib is under tremendous pressure from former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has accused him of being scandal-ridden.

Apart from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) quagmire, the prime minister and his family have also earned bad press for their lavish lifestyle.

PM's advisors only act smart

Nur Jazlan, who is the Pulai MP and Pulai Umno division head, said pressure from Mahathir was bad for Najib, as the latter's cabinet members were not as convincing as the former.

"Najib is surrounded by advisers who act smart, but are more concerned about themselves getting projects than defending Najib to the death in whatever way.

"Even worse for Najib, the leaders who are vocal about defending him don't have any credbility or experience, their arguments can be easily rebutted not just by opposition leader but even the rakyat," Nur Jazlan wrote.

He added, Najib himself did not fare any better during his televised interview to address Mahathir's concerns.

"The outcome of the interview has not convinced Mahathir, and also added to the people's lack of confidence (in Najib)," he wrote.

As such he said, it is unknown if Najib will survive all the attacks against him.

"Whether Najib can survive until the end of Parliament in 2018 with all these attacks, only God knows," he said.