Najib Abdul Razak said the government would not dissolve Parliament to make way for the general election based the popularity of the prime minister, but the election date would be a surprise.

Without giving any indication that the elections would be held soon, he said a lot of factors had to be considered before fixing the general election date.

"I cannot say one way or the other. If it (general election) happens, it will be a surprise.

NONE "What is important is to work hard in the spirit of 1Malaysia," he told reporters after a meet-the-people session at the Machimmaram temple in Tumpat today.

He was commenting on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's suggestion that Najib consider calling for a fresh general election soon, now that he is enjoying his highest approval rating since assuming office in April last year.

Mahathir said that going by the latest survey carried out by the Merdeka Centre, Najib stood more than a good chance of leading the BN to a handsome win.

From the Merdeka Centre survey made public last week, 72 percent of Malaysians were satisfied with Najib's performance, which was higher than the 69 percent he received in April.

Divided into ethnic groups, the survey found 77 percent of Malays, 58 per cent of Chinese and 80 per cent of Indians expressing satisfaction with the prime minister's performance.

Strong line-up of BN leaders

Najib said BN must first concentrate on strengthening itself before preparing for the next general, while it also needed a strong line-up of leaders.

He said BN could not depend on one survey to decide when to call the next general election as a lot of factors must be considered.

On his visiting the Sultan of Kelantan Tuanku Ismail Petra today, Najib said it was a personal and not a working visit.

"The sultan's condition is improving based on the briefing by the sultan's personal doctor," he said.

- Bernama