PETALING JAYA: The 15th General Election (GE15) could be triggered later this year and Pakatan Harapan has to get its act together before Parliament is dissolved, say Opposition MPs.

       PKR’s Kangar MP Noor Amin Ahmad said it is crucial for Pakatan to be ready for an election, regardless if the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Putrajaya and Pakatan will be extended after it expires on July 31.

       Noor Amin said most terms in the MOU had been implemented, except the anti-party hopping Bill that was delayed several times.

       “It seems that Umno is eager to go for GE15,” added Noor Amin.

       Noor Amin was also confident that the other agreed terms in the MOU could be implemented before its expires on July 31.

       “I would like to be optimistic as we have worked on it for many months. There are valid concerns raised by opposing parties and it is, to me at least, very healthy for good policy making,” the PKR MP added.

       Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim, from PKR, said Barisan Nasional is poised to take on the 15th general election as Pakatan is still reeling from its poor electoral outings in Sabah, Melaka, Johor and Sarawak.

       “That is why Umno insists on a snap election to frustrate Pakatan from strengthening its narratives and strategies,” he said.

       The Sabah state election in 2020 saw the defeat of the Warisan Plus government after they only secured 32 seats against Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s 38 seats.

       In the Melaka state election last November, PKR lost in all 11 seats, Amanah won one and DAP managed to retain merely four seats.

       The Sarawak state election saw similar outcomes, where PKR and Amanah lost in all the seats they contested, while DAP only managed to retain two seats.

       In the Johor state election, DAP retained 10 seats while PKR and Amanah each retained one seat.

       Hassan, however, is calling for a second MOU to be inked once the current one expires.

       “Pakatan (would) prefer an MOU 2.0 after 31 July, but Umno is quite smart with its promise to install Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as next prime minister after GE15,” he added.

       Umno has announced that it wants the current MOU between Putrajaya and Pakatan to be discontinued once it expires on July 31.

       DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago said it is important for the MOU to remain as agendas such as a two-term tenure for a sitting prime minister and the Parliamentary Services Act have yet to be implemented.

       “I think it is important for the MOU to be alive in order for all of these things to be done,” he added.

       Earlier this year, PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil had said that 13 out of the 18 items in the MOU signed between Pakatan and Putrajaya last September had been implemented.

       Among the agreements under the MOU were that Parliament cannot be dissolved before July 31 this year and the implementation of an anti-party hopping Act.

       The anti-party hopping Act saw multiple delays recently and earlier this week, Ismail Sabri had said the Act will be tabled in the upcoming Parliament sitting in July.