“The change of date is based on the regulations of the EC and verified by its legal division. Some holidays cannot be taken into account,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
Many quarters had assumed that the Dewan Rakyat should have been dissolved on March 9, going by the reasoning that the 12th general election was held on March 8, 2008. However, the date of maturity of a five-year term of the Dewan Rakyat is from the first day of the convening of the house after a general election. After the general election in 2008, the Dewan Rakyat convened for the first time on April 28 of that year, which is 51 days after the polls.
BERNAMA