Perak Harapan hit with more defections

Perak Pakatan Harapan has been hit with a second wave of defections immediately after Perikatan Nasional declared it would form a new state government.

At a press conference in Ipoh this afternoon, three assemblypersons announced they were quitting their respective Harapan component parties and declared their support for the new state government.

Two of the defectors - Paul Yong (Tronoh assemblyperson) and A Sivasubramaniam (Buntong) were from DAP while Hasnul Zulkarnain Abd Munaim (Titi Serong) was from Amanah.

Hasnul's move is a major blow to Amanah as he is the party's national Youth wing leader.

Yong said if they do not support the new government, then a lot of projects in their constituencies would be cancelled.

"In Tronoh, there are investors coming in as well as a university. If we go back to the opposition, then all will be suspended.

"People placed high hopes on the political parties. They should not suffer because of political games," he added.

With this, the current alignment in Perak would see Perikatan Nasional with 32 seats on the government bench while the opposition bench would have 24 members.

Perak is the third Harapan state government to fall after Bersatu withdrew from the coalition to form a new coalition with Umno, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) at the federal level.

This new alignment has resulted in a new menteri besar being sworn-in for Johor and a new chief minister will be sworn-in for Malacca this afternoon.

It is uncertain who will head the new Perak government although state Umno head and Kota Tampan assemblyperson Saarani Mohamad has been touted as the frontrunner.

With this development, there are currently five states still ruled by Harapan - Sabah, Kedah, Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.

The other states are ruled by the Perikatan Nasional, while Sarawak is ruled by GPS.  - Mkini