The BGA Malaysia Team led by Managing Director Hazree Turee, wrote an update to clients on the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament ahead of the 15th general election.

Context

  • Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on October 10 announced the dissolution of Parliament, paving the way for the country’s 15th general election. The prime minister has urged the various state governments to dissolve their legislative assemblies and hold state polls concurrently with the parliamentary elections.
  • The Election Commission is expected to meet within the week to announce a date for the vote, which must be held within 60 days of Parliament’s dissolution. The commission will likely announce a polling date in early November because Malaysia’s annual monsoon season typically starts in November and ends as late as March. In the meantime, a caretaker government will assume many of the government’s day-to-day functions.

Significance

  • The dissolution of Parliament marks the end of the most tumultuous period in Malaysia’s political history, which saw three prime ministers since the last general election in 2018. It also ends Ismail Sabri’s 13-month term as premier — the shortest in Malaysian history.
  • Malaysia will be ruled by a caretaker government following the dissolution of Parliament. While the caretaker government will assume many day-to-day functions, it will not be allowed to make major policy decisions, appointments to important positions or decide on contracts or commitments that have a major impact. However, preapproved initiatives and programs for the current year will continue.

Implications

  • Businesses should expect a lack of urgency within Malaysia’s bureaucracy to engage with external parties, given the absence of authority at the ministerial level.
  • Companies should prioritize establishing relationships with relevant bureaucrats, who could dictate the progress of ongoing engagements and facilitate relationship building with the new ministers and their officers.

BGA will continue to keep you updated on developments in Malaysia as they occur. If you have any comments or questions, please contact BGA Malaysia Managing Hazree Turee at hturee@bowergroupasia.com.   

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Managing Director

Hazree’s 25 years of business experience have spanned across many sectors, including consulting, sales, marketing and services. His work with large multinationals and government link companies helped him build an extensive network, especially in the government. Hazree has been involved in business development projects in industries like oil and gas, banking, supply chain and e-government. He has turned around troubled and complex projects with challenging policy, financial and technical problems. He has set up a cloud computing business and was the architect of Commerce dot Com’s Center of Excellence for Government Procurement. Hazree has vast experience in liaising with government ... Read More