Although Anwar just said that he won't call for elections in the next 1 or 2 months, But UMNO looks like it preparing for elections like it is expecting it to happen in the next 1 or 2 months.
Isn't that strange?
Just a couple of weeks ago, Khairy decided to rejoin UMNO, after being expelled from Umno for more than 3 years. Whatever it is that caused Khairy to be expelled from UMNO previously and whatever the reason he refused to rejoin UMNO in the last 3 years, it hasn't changed. Zahid Hamidi is still Umno's president. Umno has not changed any of its policies that Khairy opposes. Khairy has not recanted any of the reasons that got him expelled.
So why did Khairy decide to end his masterless ronin days and rejoin UMNO now, when nothing has changed ? The only answer I can think of is that it is because Khairy is anticipating elections to be called soon, and he wishes to be a part of it.
Just weeks after he rejoined umno, Khairy is already busy looking for seats to contest in the next election. His father in law's seat in Kepala Batas was offered to him, but he has declined it.
Khairy of course, had a reason why he declined the seat.
According to Khairy, his late father-in-law and former long-serving Kepala Batas MP, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, had previously told him and Abdullah’s political protege, Reezal Merican Naina Merican, to “let Reezal take care of Kepala Batas”.
“How can I go against his wishes?” said Khairy on the sidelines of a Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house hosted by Reezal in Bertam here this evening.
That might be the case or it might be the case that Kepala Batas, with its agricultural vibe and large Malay Muslim electorate, is a consittuency that might not respond well to Khairy's urban and cosmopolitan image. It is hard to see how Khairy will be able to wrest the Kepala Batas constituency, that is currently being held by the opposition, even if he happens to be the son-in-law of the Pak Lah, who served as the Kepala Batas MP before it was seized by the opposition.
But I digress..
Why he has declined is not important, but the fact that he has declined it is a sign that he has been very busy looking for a seat, just a couple of weeks after rejoining UMNO.
Other than Khairy's hitting the ground running as soon as he has been accepted back into Umno, Kedah Umno has also recently called for Umno to go solo in the next election, and analysts are already busy talking about who in umno can serve as a Umno's poster boy to rival the popularity of Kedah Pas''s MB Sanusi Nor.
Isn't it odd that Kedah umno is ramping up its election preparations, when Anwar just said that he is not going to call for election in the next one or two months ?
It is like Umno doesn't believe what Anwar is saying or Umno doesn't think that it up to Anwar to decide when the election is going to be held.
The prime minister, by the way, only gets to decide when the election is going to be held if he holds a comfortable majority in the parliament.
If he doesn't enjoy a strong support in parliament however, the MPs can force an election to occur by withdrawing their support of him, regardless of whether he consents to it or not.
Anyhow, one of the bellwether signs, at least for me, as to whether the election will be called soon will be the fate of Umno president Zahid Hamidi.
A lot of people are predicting that if elections is held soon, it might be Zahid that will be the main beneficiary, because he might likely be the one to replace Anwar to become the 11th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Yesterday however, the Malaysian Bar council has also moved to challenge the AG's NFA decision in Zahid Hamidi's corruption case.
Zahid, as we all know, has been very fortunate with his DNAA's and NFA's, in regards to his court cases - his success rate is 100 percent, despite the number of cases against him.
If the bar council looks like it is going to succeed in compelling the AG to resume prosecution or reinstate charges against Zahid in the near future however, then that would be a sign that Zahid's luck is running out, and that to me, is a sign that elections might indeed be called in the near future.
I can't explain why I think Zahid finding his corruption NFA overturned is a sign that election might be called soon - I could get in trouble if I elaborate on it - so let's just say that for superstitious reasons, I believe that if Zahid's problem with the courts comes back to haunt him after he has tried so hard for so many years to exorcise it out of his system, it is a sign that despite what Anwar said, a snap election might be forced to occur on the near future.
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