2012.02.14 Anwar predicts early election

BANGKOK: The Malaysian opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, predicts the 13th General Election in Malaysia to be held sooner than expected.

Invited by Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand or FCCT, Anwar shared his views on the latest political developments in Malaysia in Evening with Anwar Ibrahim.

In reply to a journalist's question whether the general election will be held earlier or later, he mentioned meeting of opposition coalition leaders in Pakatan Rakyat's on Monday which predicted that the election will be held very soon "either in May or June" because the government's policy of 500 ringgit assistance per family will be completed probably by the end of March.

Anwar said he told opposition leaders "I have worked with them (the government) before, I can read them better. I think that must be sooner than you predict."

In October 2011, Bloomberg reported that in Prime Minister Najib Razak's budget speech in parliament stated that Malaysia's government will give a one-off cash payment of 500 ringgit to households with monthly incomes of less than 3,000 ringgit.

Anwar also said the election campaign period in Malaysia will be one week, "It is the shortest in the world."

"But we have confidence, that's why we have survived. The sooner they go for this (election), I believe the sooner Dato' Najib Razak will be proclaimed as the new leader of the opposition." Anwar claims.