Parliament may dissolve next week - Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan (file pix)
SEPANGGAR, April 1 (Bernama) -- The Dewan Rakyat might be dissolved before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launches the Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto towards the end of next week, said BN Strategic Communications Director Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan today.
"Chances are, based on our (BN) previous experiences, the launch of the BN manifesto will be held after the dissolution of Parliament. That is the tradition.
"(But) I am not sure if Datuk Seri Najib will use the same method (launch manifesto after Parliament is dissolved)," he told reporters after examining roads and drainage conditions in Sepanggar here.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said the manifesto was slotted to be launched some time next week, while the last day of the Dewan Rakyat sitting is on April 5 (Thursday).
"Someone was telling me, but I can't confirm. You (people) will expect some time next week that Parliament will be dissolved," he added.
According to Abdul Rahman, the launch of the manifesto will be held in a grand gathering at Bukit Jalil.
He said he had seen the manifesto and that there would be "nice and surprising" things specially for Sabah.
"There are also some items (in the manifesto) that were never thought of before, but we (Sabah BN leaders) fought hard for those items so that the Prime Minister included one or two of those things in the manifesto. Just wait until the launching (to find out the items)," he said.
Abdul Rahman said Sabah's rights in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) would also be included in the manifesto.
As a member of the National Steering Committee on the Devolution of Powers to Sabah and Sarawak co-chaired by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, he said the time for reviewing the MA63 was over and it was time for its implementation.
"I can assure you that Datuk Seri Anifah and Datuk Seri Nancy along with all the other cabinet members from Sabah and Sarawak are committed that the spirit of MA63 be restored in accordance with the wishes of the Prime Minister that whatever was inadvertently taken or deliberately taken away from Sabah (and Sarawak) will be returned," he said.
Abdul Rahman also stressed that the manifesto was not a tell-all document, in which, he clarified, contained items that had not been discussed before, but something the BN promised to do in the next five years given the mandate to rule the country.
"Therefore, I think that the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah ought not be in the manifesto as a decision on the matter had been made and that had already been known to the people," he explained.
He also said the manifesto should be read together with other commitments that the BN government had launched in order to have a better understanding of BN's commitment towards the people and the country.
"For example, you must read the manifesto together with what we (BN government) promised in the 11th Malaysia Plan, the 2050 National Transformation document and the annual budget that the Prime Minister tabled every year.
-- BERNAMA
