Bung: Parliament dissolution not discussed in Umno supreme council meet

Umno's supreme council did not discuss the dissolution of Parliament when it met last night, said Bung Moktar Radin.

The Kinabatangan MP said the dissolution of Parliament and the date of the 15th general election (GE) were at the discretion of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

"We discussed party issues to focus on the election and stabilising the country's economy.

"We didn't discuss the election. We discuss strengthening the party. If the party is strong, our candidate wins.

"The PM also attended the meeting today to help strengthen Umno.

"Deciding on when to dissolve Parliament and the date of GE15 is the PM's right," he told reporters at the Umno Office lobby, Menara Dato Onn, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

Previously, there were rumours that the Umno meeting would see such a decision, following the announcement that the 2023 Budget will be presented on Oct 7, which is three weeks earlier than previously scheduled.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar denied any connection to the new date change with the next general election, which is expected to be held this year.

Earlier yesterday, in a speech at the Umno president's special briefing, party chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi urged for the general election to be held immediately.

According to Zahid, Umno's insistence that the general election is held was a decision made by the entire party leadership and not decided by himself alone to save him from a possible court sentence.

This follows the jailing of ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak last week.

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