LOOKING OUT FOR UMNO? EC keeping eye on Selangor situation

PETALING JAYA  Assuming that Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim forms a pact with PAS and Barisan Nasional (BN), he will remain as the menteri besar.

A former senior officer of the Selangor government said this was possible because the “partnership” would then have 28 seats — 15 from PAS, 12 from BN, and Khalid’s own Port Klang seat.

This would be one more than the combined total of DAP and PKR seats.

DAP currently has 14 seats — excluding the one held by speaker Hannah Yeoh — and PKR 13.

“Although she (Yeoh) is an assemblyman, her rank as speaker supersedes it. She will be allowed to cast a vote if and when there is a tie,” the former senior government officer said.

Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, when asked if the commission was prepared to face fresh state elections in the event there was a decision to dissolve the state assembly, said the EC was monitoring the situation.

“The EC will only get involved if there is a dissolution of the state assembly. Until then, we are not involved in anything,” he said.

Abdul Aziz said that when an assemblyman resigned or was sacked from a party, he or she automatically became an independent.

“There is no need for the EC or the state to endorse that status as it works automatically,” he said.

On how much would it cost to call for fresh elections in Selangor, Abdul Aziz said it would be more than RM 51.4 million.

“We spent that amount for Selangor in the 13th general election, so the amount will definitely be higher now with the increased costs after 15 months,” he said.

He said at least 500 staff from EC, 34,000 from other departments, and temporary workers would be involved if fresh elections were held in the state.-Malay Mail