BN aims not to dissolve Malacca assembly for at least four years

 

MALACCA POLLS | BN, which won in the Malacca polls by a landslide, plans to keep the new state government that it will form for at least four years, said BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

That means the new BN state government will serve until at least the end of 2025.

It also means the state election will no longer be held concurrently with the federal election which is due in 2023.

To this end, Zahid said the new BN government will introduce new legislation to deter party hopping.

"We will ensure that the term will last at least four years from the first sitting," he told a press conference in Taman Botanikal, Ayer Keroh, Malacca.

BN, in its manifesto, had promised to amend the state constitution where it will introduce five unelected lawmakers on top of the 28 elected ones.

This is to allow the winner to bolster their majority upon winning a simple majority by having the right to appoint an additional five assemblypersons, similar to the system in Pahang and Sabah.

BN won a two-thirds majority in the Malacca polls today and will be able to unilaterally introduce the change.

Political stability

Zahid thanked voters for returning to BN's fold.

"It is an acknowledgement of the people's demand for political stability," he said.

BN won 21 seats, while Perikatan Nasional picked up two and Pakatan Harapan won five. Fifteen seats were needed for a simple majority and 19 for two-thirds.

Since the 2018 general election, the Malacca government had fallen twice due to defections.

Harapan won the state in 2018 but was brought down by defections in March 2020.

After being replaced by an Umno-Bersatu government, it too collapsed after 19 months due to defections. - Mkini