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Announcement of no early general election: PM’s decision is  in accordance with political logic and reflects his willingness to respect the right of his designated succeesor   Press Statement by Kerk Kim Hock (Petaling Jaya, Wednesday): In an interview with Reuters, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad dismissed speculation that the next general election would  be held before his retirement scheduled on 31.10.2003.  His announcement reflects a decision that is in accordance with political logic . It is a wise decision because his decision also shows his willingness to respect the right of his designated successor to lead the next general election and seek the people’s mandate for himself and his policies.   On 10.10.2002, while opening the DAP Federal Territory State Annual Convention, I had said that three factors would influence the Prime Minister’s decision to dissolve the Parliament, basically, the constituency delineation exercise, the 20004 Budget and his preference to retire as a Prime Minister.   I had then predicted that the next general election, by normal political rules and logic,  would be held after his retirement because:   Dr Mahthir will want the constituency delineation exercise proposals which are said to favour the Barisan Nasional approved by the Parliament prior to the Parliament dissolution Dr Mahathir will want to present his last Budget in the Parliament in September this year and that he will present a pro people Budget so as to express his gratitude to the people for having made him the nation’s longest serving Prime minister Dr Mahathir will prefer to retire as a Prime Minsiter rather than as an ordinary Member  of Parliament Of course, there also exists the important factor that since the Prime Minister has announced his definite date of retirement, it is only  logical and fair that his designated successor, Datuk Abdullah Badawi, should be given the opportunity to lead the next general election and seek he people’s mandate  for himself and his policies.   However, due to the fact that the intra and inter Barisan Nasional component party internal disputes have caused some Barisan Nasional leaders to hope that the Prime Minister will personally lead the next general election so as to enhance the Barisan Nsaional chances of a landslide victory, speculation has been rife that the general election will be held in July this year.   Political parties on both sides of the political fence, though realising that the Prime Minister has not set a definite date for the dissolution of the Parliament but is keeping his options open, have started gearing up for the next general election. .   DAP, which views the next general election as the toughest electoral battle in its history, has also instructed that all its state committees should immediately gear up for the next general election, with July as a probable target date for Parliament dissolution.   If the Prime Minister keeps to his announcement that the Parliament will not be dissolved before his retirement, this will provide us with some extra time in our preparations for the nations’ 11 th general election. (6/2/2003) * Kerk Kim Hock, DAP Secretary General & MP for Kota Melaka