Penang state assembly to be officially dissolved tomorrow

GEORGE TOWN - The Penang State Legislative Assembly will be officially dissolved tomorrow to enable the state election to be held.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said he had obtained the consent of the Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak on the proposed date during an audience at Seri Mutiara, the official residence of the Yang Dipertua Negeri earlier today.

"This morning, I obtained the consent of the Yang Dipertua Negeri to sign the proclamation of the dissolution of the Penang State Assembly to pave the way for the state polls.

"I am relieved that this is over, so we can now look forward to preparing for the state election with the date to be determined by the Election Commission (EC),” he told reporters here.

Chow arrived at Seri Mutiara for an audience with Tun Ahmad Fuzi at 7.55am.

Chow, who is also Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2.30 pm today.

The Penang State Assembly held its first meeting on Aug 1, 2018, after the 2018 General Election in, and its five-year mandate shall expire on Aug 2 this year.

In the last general election, PH won 37 of the 40 state seats including two secured by Bersatu representatives when they were with the coalition, while Barisan Nasional (BN) obtained two, and Pas, one.

In February 2020, Bersatu announced that they were quitting PH and joining Perikatan Nasional (PN), and the two representatives - Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifli Md Lazim (Teluk Bahang) withdrew their support for the PH-led state government.

The crisis in PKR also saw two of its assemblymen sacked namely Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya) and Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh).

The latest composition of the Penang State Assembly sees PH holding 33 seats, followed by BN (two), Bersatu (four), and Pas (one). - BERNAMA