Despite growing pressure from UMNO and PAS for an early general election, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is likely to delay Malaysia's GE16 until late 2027. UMNO president and Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi publicly called for polls "the earlier the better" on September 3, following his coalition's strong wins in Johor and Negeri Sembilan state polls. PAS, which leads the opposition Perikatan Nasional, also supports an early dissolution of Parliament. However, for Zahid's plan to succeed, his 30-member BN bloc would need enough support from other government-aligned parties to defeat the upcoming Budget 2027, which is widely seen as an "election" budget.