Najib Abdul Razak said he will wait for the outcome of the Sarawak state election before deciding whether to call for an early general election.

"We're looking at (the) Sarawak (state election) and after Sarawak we will decide when is the best time (to hold the 13th general election). We follow the British system and we can decide, so long is it doesn't go beyond five years," he said.

In an interview with Bloomberg on his achievement after two years in office, which was aired today, the prime minister was asked whether he would call for an early general election if BN were to do well in the April 16 Sarawak poll.

On clues on the general election timing, Najib said, "This is a favourite pastime and I'd like to keep it that way."

The BN chairperson also pointed out that the ruling BN had done very well in the by-elections since the 2008 general election.

"We are doing very well actually in terms of by-elections. Recent by-elections have been very, very positive in terms of results for the BN government," he said.

BN has won eight of the 16 by-elections held after the 2008 poll, including five won since November 2010 with bigger majorities.

The prime minister was also asked whether he felt he need a mandate for his reform programmes given that he was appointed mid-term.

Najib stressed that as far as reforms were concerned, the people supported them.

"We do a lot of polls and we've had a series of by-elections and they show that the people like what the government is doing, otherwise we won't get those kind of results.

"The mandate we received in 2008 was a mandate for five years. So I don't feel compelled to have a kind of personal mandate for myself as prime minister. When the time is right, I will go to the people and seek a fresh mandate for the party," he said.

On how confident the BN is about winning the Sarawak state election, Najib said the people there wanted a government that could deliver and in this context, they would see BN as the only government that could deliver for them.

"Basically, people want a government that can deliver. I think that is key for the state of Sarawak which is a state that requires a lot of infrastructure development, requires basic facilities. I think they will see BN as the only government that can deliver for Sarawak," he said.

- Bernama