The March 21 expiry date of the Johor state assembly may force the hand of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on when to call the general election. Insiders expect the Prime Minister to seek the consent of the King to dissolve Parliament ‘way before then’, partly for reasons of morale.

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is certain to ask for Parliament to be dissolved to pave the way for the 13th general election before March 21.

The speculation is that the Prime Minister will seek the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah for the dissolution any time between Feb 20 and March 20.

Insiders note that March 21 is the day the tenure of the Johor state assembly expires after a five-year term.

“Johor state assemblymen took their oath on March 21. Therefore, the assembly term expires on the same date this year.

“We expect the Prime Minister to see the King and ask for Parliament to be dissolved way before then,” said a source.

Sources say that Najib would not want to allow the Johor assembly to expire because this would be unprecedented and could lead to many legal and “morale” problems.

A Barisan Nasional official said that allowing the Johor term to expire would send the wrong message that the ruling coalition was not ready to face the voters.

The official, however, pointed out that this did not mean that the national polls must be held on March 21 or before that.

“The prime minister is expected to make several important overseas trips in February to places that are strategically important to Malaysia as well as attend regional and multi-lateral conferences where our country is a significant participant,” he said.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit is scheduled for Feb 6-7 and Malaysian leaders have rarely missed this meeting. It is understood that Najib has scheduled another overseas trip soon after Chinese New Year.

This means that Najib is left with a 30-day period to go for the polls because he is unlikely to seek for the dissolution of Parliament too soon after Chinese New Year which falls on Feb 10.

It is learnt that his advisers have told him to avoid cutting short the festive joy, with the Lunar New Year being traditionally celebrated for 15 days.

Due to all these factors, according to insiders, Najib has to call for elections between Feb 20 and March 20, thus losing the advantage of an element of surprise.

The Parliament term does not expire until March 29 while the Negri Sembilan state assembly will complete its term on March 26.

• Alliance full year profit up 7% to RM538mil
• Bumi Armada's earnings up 22% to RM109.67mil, order book RM12.2b
• Dayang bags RM2bil contract from Shell
• CIMB earnings up 37.1% to RM1.386b in Q1, 2013
• MMHE Q1 earnings down 35% to RM50.59m
• KLCI closes a shade below record high
• AmIncome Flexi bond fund to attract RM200m investments
• EPF invests additional US$1.3b overseas
• MIDA: Investments up 44% on-year to RM49.3b in Q1
• Prague metro plans to launch love train for singles
• iGate sacks chief executive Murthy after sexual harassment probe
• Eversendai Q1 earnings slip 13.1% to RM23.68m on timing differences
• US asks judge to deny S&P's motion to dismiss fraud lawsuit
• Perdana Petroleum bidding for over RM1b contracts
• IOI Corp Q3 earnings up just 2.8% to RM567.8m (Update)

• 6.0 quake off Russia's far-east Kamchatka coastline: USGS
• Death toll rises to 21 in Indonesian mine collapse
• Dozens dead as tornado hits Oklahoma City (Updated)
• No new H7N9 cases in China for a week: government
• Villagers discover ancient ball game statue in Mexico
• British PM survives gay marriage vote
• Kerry to help ink $2.1 bn defense accord with Oman
• Yahoo unveils makeover of flickr site

• China crush arch rivals Indonesia
• Former Asian phenom takes slow route to success
• Plenty for Hafizh as 55 is significant in his early racing career
• Yi Ting on a mission
• Razif: Indiscipline the cause of senior players’ poor performances
• Cool V Shem believes he will be too hot for rivals to handle
• Spirited Malaysian team vow to deliver against Germans
• Japan hope to reach their first semis in tourney
• KLHC to rule the roost if other teams don’t raise their game
• Malaysia have their work cut out in the World League
• Gobi’s fate to be decided by MHC’s administrative committee
• Andre nails it with last jump
• Grace hammers home a point with two golds
• Delia one step away from main draw after easy win
• Sharon believes KPT circuit is excellent for squash’s future

• Please wait.

• Sarawak ministers, assemblymen get three-fold pay hike
• Rape accused defends marriage to 13-year-old, says it was mutual
• Kerry visits Oman for arms deal, talks on Syria, Mideast
• Malindo set to operate from Subang Skypark
• MAS flew baby home with doctor's certification, says CEO Ahmad Jauhari
• Coconut yogurt anyone?
• Cops urge motorists to avoid roads near Dataran PJ Thursday evening
• AmIncome Flexi bond fund to attract RM200m investments
• The best ways to national unity
• Dayang bags RM2bil contract from Shell