PETALING JAYA: The 15th General Election (GE15) should be held in August at the latest while the feel-good factor still favours Umno, says its supreme council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

       He said the feel-good factor came from recent government announcements such as the RM1,500 minimum wage and one-off i-Citra withdrawals, as well as the two-thirds Barisan Nasional victories in the Melaka and Johor state elections.

       “The top five Umno leaders are expected to meet and discuss the date for GE15. This was agreed upon and announced in front of delegates during the recent Umno general assembly.

       “Although it is the prerogative of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to get the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah (to dissolve Parliament), the Prime Minister gave his commitment in front of the delegates.

       “Once the top five Umno leaders agree on a date, the Prime Minister promised not to delay GE15, not even for a second,” he told The Star when contacted.

       Mohd Puad added that this was in line with the stance of all state Umno leaders that GE15 must be held before the party’s elections.

       Since the Umno polls must be held before the end of December, GE15 must be held between July and November, he said.

       On March 24, party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that they have yet to decide on a date for the meeting of the top five Umno leaders to discuss dissolving Parliament.

       The meeting is expected to include Zahid, deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and the three Umno vice-presidents: Ismail Sabri, Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin and Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

       During the recent general assembly, Mohamad had said that delegates had approved a motion to postpone the party elections to six months after GE15 is held.

       If the party elections were to be held before GE15, there was fear that it could create a split within Umno, he added.