Ismail said while he has the authority to advise the King on the dissolution of Parliament, which would pave the way for GE15, it is up to the King to accept or reject his proposal.

“I cannot set the exact date as that means I am taking over the duties of the King. That’s wrong,” the Bera MP told reporters after officiating an event at Taman Tugu in Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s constitutionally wrong for me to set the date as the final say lies with the King.

“The power to convene and dissolve Parliament lies with him. So if I give a date, it’s as if I am overstepping the King’s rights. I cannot do that.

“DAP may not respect the King, but I do.”

This comes as Loke slammed Ismail on Thursday for his “inconsistent” stance on whether GE15 — which must be held by September 2023 — would be held soon.

In a Facebook post, Loke noted that Ismail was quoted by Nikkei Asia last Monday as saying that GE15 would not be held soon, but on Wednesday, he told the Barisan Nasional convention that he would not “delay dissolving Parliament for even one second” once he felt BN was ready.

Loke said while DAP was not worried about a general election being held any time soon, he claimed that “flip-flopping” on the GE15 would only cause continued political instability and further harm the country’s economy.

Ismail, one of Umno’s three vice-presidents, said previous prime ministers also did not set dates for elections.

He added that he would hold discussions on GE15 with top leaders from Umno and BN before meeting with his Cabinet, which would then give him the mandate to seek an audience with the King to advise him on a date.

“It’s better if my statements (on GE15) are seen as ‘inconsistent’ so that they (DAP) do not know when the election will be called,” said Ismail.

“Try to check the statements from previous prime ministers. Have they ever set election dates? Never.

“If I tell you in advance, DAP will be happy. They can start preparing for the election.”