(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): In response to my speech in Penang on Friday on the possibility of snap general elections in the next six months before the SUKOM in September and APEC Summit in November this year, MCA and Gerakan leaders have come out denying that the bringing forward of MCA and Gerakan annual general assemblies had anything to do with snap general elections.
Three MCA leaders, namely the MCA Deputy President, Datuk Lim Ah Lek and two MCA Vice Presidents, Datuk Chua Jui Meng and Datuk Chan Kwong Choy all claimed that the bringing forward of the MCA Annual General Meeting to May 30 was to suit the busy schedule of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who is to open the meeting. All three said that this matter should not be linked to the question of snap elections in six months.
A Gerakan national leader basically said the same thing when he confirmed that the Gerakan national conference had been brought forward to June 26.
How can the MCA and Gerakan leaders deny the possibility of snap general elections in six months’ time when this decision is not in their hands?
MCA and Gerakan leaders are as much in the dark as anybody else as to when Mahathir would exercise his prerogative to dissolve Parliament and call general elections.
It is significant that Mahathir did not deny the possibility of general elections in six months’ time when he was asked, merely telling the journalists to "ask Kit Siang".
The link to the possibility of snap general elections in six months’ time is clearly there when MCA and Gerakan have to bring forward their national general meetings to May and June and UMNO has to bring forward its General Assembly by three months to June 19. Is Mahathir so busy in the three months from August to October that he could not spare the time to declare open the annual conferences of the Barisan Nasional component parties?
(22/1/98)