PH power-hungry for not dissolving state assemblies, says Zahid

 

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says Barisan Nasional is not as greedy for power as the opposition.

PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has accused Pakatan Harapan (PH) of being power-hungry for not dissolving the legislative assemblies in the states it controls.

Zahid said PH is refusing to hand over the right and mandate of the people to elect new state governments for fear of not being able to stay in power.

In a Facebook post, he attached a screenshot of a news report in which DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook said Umno was to blame for the states under PH’s control not dissolving their legislative assemblies in line with the dissolution of Parliament yesterday.

PH, which controls Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan, previously said the their state assemblies would serve out their full terms.

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“They are willing to waste (money) by holding state elections separately due to fear of losing power,” said Zahid.

“If BN is as greedy for power as they are, BN could choose not to allow the states it governs to dissolve their legislative assemblies, but that is not the purpose of BN’s politics.

“The people need to reject the power-hungry coalition which clearly does not care about their future and (that of) the country.”

Zahid said the opposition’s reasoning that GE15 should not be held this year because of the risk of floods was “no longer relevant” because the Election Commission could decide that the elections be held before mid-November.

Leaders from both PH and Perikatan Nasional (PN) have cited the possibility of floods during the northeast monsoon season – expected from mid-November to March next year – as among the reasons to delay GE15 to a later date.

Announcing the dissolution of Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob urged the state governments to dissolve their legislative assemblies to allow state elections to be held concurrently with the parliamentary elections.

Ismail said this would smoothen the democratic process, save costs and prevent burdening the people with another election next year.

However, he said Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka and Johor, which held their state elections recently, did not have to dissolve their state assemblies.

Zahid, who is also the Barisan Nasional chairman, had said yesterday the BN-led states would dissolve their legislative assemblies simultaneously with the dissolution of Parliament.

Aside from Johor and Melaka, BN currently controls three states – Perlis, Pahang and Perak. Sabah is led by Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, which comprises BN, PN and PBS. - FMT