‘Dissolution of Parliament timely’

KLANG: The dissolution of Parliament has been described as timely by Selangor MCA, which says it is ready for the battle.

Its state chief Datuk Ng Chok Sin, said, after much speculation and guessing on when the general election will be held, “we now know for sure that we will be at the grand finale”.

Ready: (from left) Ng believes chances will improve with more people manning the machinery, while Leong believes voters will come out in full force.

He said in the event the Pakatan Harapan state government did not dissolve the state legislative assembly, Barisan Nasional could focus on winning the parliamentary seats at stake.

“The more people manning the machinery, the better chance we have. And when we have done well with the parliamentary seats, our chances of wresting the state seats later will be brighter,’’ he added.

Klang Umno chief Datuk Nasarrudin Zin said he had been conducting meetings with branches and party volunteers.

“Even if there is no state election in Selangor, our strategy and machinery will adhere to the same standard operation procedures (SOP) in covering both state and parliamentary constituencies,’’ he said when contacted.

He said the party was confident that the Barisan candidate for the Klang parliamentary constituency would have a good chance of wresting the seat after three terms.

“We have many issues that we can highlight to convince voters to support us this time,’’ he said.

PKR treasurer-general and Selayang MP William Leong said it was timely for the general election to be held as the country had faced political uncertainty for some time.

He believed voters would come out in full force this time to make their voices heard. Leong said he did not know if the decision by Pakatan Harapan to not dissolve the state assemblies under its rule would be reconsidered.

Selangor DAP vice-chairman Ng Suee Lim said the party had been ready for the polls since concluding its polls several months ago.

“We have been engaging our grassroots through a series of dinner gatherings and motivating them,’’ said Ng, adding that a recent gathering in the Kinrara state constituency saw a crowd of 4,000.

Ng, who is the Selangor State Legislative Assembly Speaker, said there was no indication from Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari on reversing the decision not to dissolve the state assembly.

“We want to concentrate on preparing to counter the floods and helping the people and don’t want to risk anything untoward happening like in 2020,’’ he added.