Hamzah believes Anwar will call for GE16 by August 2027

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin said the prime minister might not be able to hold the unity government together beyond 2027. PETALING JAYA: Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin believes Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will call for the 16th general election (GE16) by August next year, as tensions grow between Pakatan Harapan and Umno.

The Wawasan president said Anwar might not be able to hold the unity government together beyond 2027.

He noted that PH MPs had begun questioning deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over his court cases after largely keeping quiet about them for the past four years.

In January, the Attorney-General's Chambers decided to take no further action on 47 charges involving corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering against Zahid, who is the Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman. The decision drew criticism from DAP leaders.

“I think they have already started to break up. So he has to call (for an election) before that,” Hamzah said in an interview with BFM Radio.

The next general election must be held by February 2028. Last month, Anwar said he is open to considering calls for a general election to be held early.

Hamzah went on to suggest that Anwar could use the 2027 SEA Games to build public goodwill and “call for an election immediately after”.

The SEA Games are scheduled for Sept 18 to 29.

“Whether it will happen or not, I don’t know. I’m not very sure about that.”

Hamzah also said the 2027 budget had plenty of “goodies” and the large allocation for the Election Commission (EC) was another sign that polls were approaching.

Under the recently tabled 2027 budget, the EC’s allocation surged to RM367 million from the RM167 million set aside a year before.