Ismail Sabri Yaakob

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s decision to roll the electoral dice even after repeated opposition warnings about holding the polls during the flood season came as no surprise. He was under significant political pressure from leaders of his own party Umno, and probably judged it in the interests of both his party and himself to dissolve parliament and pave the way for the country’s 15th general election, probably in mid-November.