PONTIAN: Datuk Hasni Mohammad (pic) says that he was not pressured into dissolving the state assembly but decided to do it for the sake of political stability.
The caretaker mentri besar said this was because of the narrow one-seat majority held by the ruling government following the death of Kempas assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian.
“I could have continued as MB until the end of my term – but Johor deserves better with a stable and strong government. So I returned the mandate to the people to choose the government they want,” he said in his speech during a Chinese New Year event here on Friday (Jan 28).
The Benut assemblyman, who is from Umno, added that the one-seat majority was the subject of much “coffee shop” talk.
Hasni also said Johor used to be among the two in terms of foreign investment but had since slipped to eighth spot for foreign investment and sixth for domestic investment.
“This should not be happening to Johor as we are an important gateway in the south especially with Singapore next door,” he said.
He added that as Mentri Besar, he had to ensure Johor was headed in the right direction.
Prior to the dissolution of the state assembly on Jan 22, the state government led by Barisan Nasional, had a simple majority of 28 (Barisan 16, Bersatu 11, PAS one) compared to Pakatan’s 27 (DAP 14, PKR seven and Amanah six) with one seat left vacant following the death of Bersatu’s Kempas assemblyman Osman.
The Election Commission (EC) will have a special meeting on Feb 9 to decide on key dates and matters on the 15th Johor state election, namely polling day and nomination day.
