Malacca Harapan not for snap polls or emergency

 

Following the dissolution of the Malacca state assembly, Pakatan Harapan has voiced its reluctance for both a snap state election and a localised emergency.

Instead, state coalition chief Adly Zahari expressed hope that the political situation could somehow be resolved without needing to go to the ballot box.

Speaking at a broadcasted press conference this morning, he opined that an emergency would also jeopardise the state’s economy.

“To me, dragging Malacca into an emergency is something very bad for the rakyat because it gives the state a very bad perception, especially as we are in the process of moving from one (recovery) phase to another.

“We don’t want to go back to the old ways, this will jeopardise the image of our economy. We are just opening our doors and an emergency should not be seen as a way to protect the rakyat,” he said, pointing to how Malacca was preparing to open its doors for domestic tourism.

Yesterday, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had raised the possibility of using an emergency to postpone the snap polls amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Adly said Malacca Harapan was prepared for a state election but appeared to favour an alternative.

“Moving forward, a state election is not a priority for us. The rakyat is our priority.

“We have consensus in Harapan to take a step forward to ensure political stability and to prioritise the rakyat,” he said.

The Amanah Bukit Katil assemblyperson did not elaborate on how Harapan was trying to ensure political stability.

Adly had served as chief minister from 2018 until March 2020 following the Sheraton Move federal government coup. He was then replaced by Umno’s Sulaiman Md Ali.

Earlier this week, Umno’s Sungai Udang assemblyperson Idris Haron joined forces with Harapan lawmakers in a coup against Sulaiman’s administration.

Faced with this, Sulaiman requested that state governor Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam dissolve the state assembly. The dissolution was announced yesterday.

Governor acted ‘hastily’

During the press conference, Adly reiterated that Sulaiman and Ali had acted out of bounds.

For one, he opined that it was “irresponsible” for Sulaiman to advise Ali to dissolve the assembly after the former had lost his majority.

“Also, the Malacca governor (Ali) should not have acted hastily in dissolving the state legislative assembly before listening to the views of the majority of assemblypersons,” he said.

By majority, Adly referred to the 11 Harapan assemblypersons and the four government assemblypersons who had defected.

“To me, there are still many solutions to ensure political stability,” he added.

As for Malacca Harapan’s plan to refer Sulaiman’s appointment as the caretaker chief minister to court, Adly said this would be done as soon as possible.

The coalition contends that Sulaiman is unfit for the role as he has lost the confidence of the majority of assemblypersons.

It argues that the state secretary should manage the state until a new chief minister is appointed. - Mkini