I had never made the forecast that Mahathir would defer general elections until December to become the Prime Minister to straddle both centuries

by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 12th February 1995:

I had never made the forecast that Mahathir would defer general elections until December to become the Prime Minister to straddle both centuries

I am surprised to read in a Chinese newspaper column today (Kwong Wall Yit Poh) on the possible general election date that I was quoted as having made the forecast that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad would delay the general elections until December this year so that he could become a Prime Minister who straddles two centuries.

I had never made any forecast that Mahathir would defer general elections until December this year so that he could become a Prime Minister who straddles both centuries.

What I said at the Bagan DAP Chinese New Year Get Together last Thursday was that the five-year life span of the present Parliament ends in December and not October as generally believed, as the five-year tenure of Parliament is calculated from the first meeting of Parliament, which was on December 3, 1990, and not from the polling date of the last general elections on October 21, 1990.

Secondly, that if Mahathir wants to be the Prime Minister who straddles both centuries – both the 20th and 21st century – then the general elections date is likely to be the second half of the year rather than the first half.

This means that if Mahathir holds general elections in the third quarter of the year, he is already comfortably poised to be the Prime Minister who spans two centuries.

I am surprised how anyone could conclude that I had predicted that Mahathir would defer general elections until December.

A December date for the general elections is clearly impossible. Although Parliament has still got 10 months until December for its five-year term to end, the latest date for dissolution must be October 1995, as otherwise, Parliament must meet for the 1996 Budget.

The most likely dates for general elections are therefore March/April in the first half of this year, or between June to August in the second half of the year.