No state polls in three PH states

GEORGE TOWN: Any hope of the Penang government dissolving its state legislative assembly this year has been dashed after the Pakatan Harapan presidential council shot down its appeal. Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, the three states held by Pakatan, will all postpone their state polls to concentrate on the monsoon season.

“The Pakatan presidential council announces that the Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan state assemblies will not be dissolved.

“Pakatan states will be focusing on pressing issues, especially the floods,” members of the council said in a press conference at PKR headquarters in Merchant Square here yesterday.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Penang accepts the decision.

“It was a question of all three states going for the elections or none at all.

“A decision was made before Parliament was dissolved, and we appealed that decision. Now, the Pakatan presidential council has made a decision.

“The issue of personal disappointment doesn’t arise as it was the presidential council’s call.

“We now want people to come out in droves to vote and deny an easy victory for Barisan Nasional,” he said.

State DAP vice-chairman Zairil Khir Johari said he is disappointed by the outcome.

“Yes, I am disappointed, but since the council has made the call, we will abide by the leadership’s decision,” said the Tanjung Bungah assemblyman.

The Penang government first considered holding the state elections concurrently with the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15), when Chow summoned all the state DAP leaders for an emergency meeting on Monday.

They then submitted their proposal to the DAP central executive committee (CEC).

The CEC held talks with the Pakatan presidential council a few days later to discuss the proposal, but no decision was reached even after a four-hour-long discussion.

DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng and Chow were the two main architects behind the lobbying for concurrent polls, as they strongly believed the party would struggle if separate elections were held.

Some of their arguments included cost, logistics issues and the burden placed on voters, who would have to come out twice to vote.

But PKR and Amanah leaders stood firm on their decision to not dissolve the state assemblies, leading to a deadlock in the talks.

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke was also not in favour of the dissolution of the state assemblies.

Up for grabs in Penang in GE15 are 13 parliamentary seats, six on the island and seven on the mainland.

Out of the 13 parliamentary seats, Pakatan holds 10, with DAP taking seven and PKR three.

Bersatu and Barisan have two and one, respectively.