Johor state assembly dissolved, paving way for snap polls within 60 days

JOHOR BAHRU: The Johor state assembly was dissolved on Monday (Jun 1), paving the way for snap polls to be held within the next 60 days.

Speaking during a special press conference held at his home in Johor Bahru on Monday, Johor's Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi said that the dissolution was signed by Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Ibrahim on Monday, with the consent of Malaysia's king and Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar. 

"This dissolution is carried out to make way for the democratic process through the Johor State Election, subject to the official determination of the Election Commission of Malaysia," said Onn Hafiz. 

"This decision has been made with the intention of ensuring that the people of Johor continue to have a stable and strong government, God willing," he added. 

Now that the state assembly has been dissolved, the election must be called within 60 days at the discretion of the Election Commission. 

This means the 16th Johor state polls have to be held by Jul 31. 

It is the prerogative of the state’s ruler or governor to dissolve the state assemblies on the advice of the chief minister, who is typically from the state’s ruling party or coalition. 

CNA earlier reported that the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition was preparing for early state elections in Johor and Melaka, quoting sources from within the coalition’s lynchpin party United Malay National Organisation (UMNO). 

Johor’s state election is only due by mid-2027, while Melaka’s is due by early 2027. 

Analysts said that if victorious in early state polls, it would allow BN to rebuild momentum independently of the federal unity government, positioning itself more strongly ahead of a general election due by early 2028. 

There are 56 seats in Johor state assembly, with 40 currently held by BN, 12 by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, three by Perikatan Nasional (PN) and one by Malaysian United Democratic Alliance. 

Although BN is aligned with PH at the federal level, they are rivals at the state level in Johor and Melaka.

The Johor state elections are likely to see BN and PH go head-to-head in tightly fought contests. PN, the main opposition bloc nationally, is seen as a secondary political player in Johor. 

Following Onn Hafiz's announcement, PH Johor said in a statement that it had anticipated that BN would dissolve the state assembly in the near future, adding that a one-day assembly sitting that BN had recently announced for Jun 22 was "completely nonsensical".

It also said that discussions would also be elevated to the PH presidential council at the national level on its next steps for the state polls.

"For us, there are no easy elections. Pakatan Harapan is ready to mobilise efforts as best as possible to win this state election."

Separately, PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar called on its component parties to focus on preparations for the state polls "with a spirit of togetherness, discipline and unity". 

"PN will enter this electoral arena with full responsibility, maturity and professionalism, placing the interests of the people as our priority," he added.

He also called on all sides to avoid any form of extreme provocation and politics of hatred and division. 

Last month, all three coalitions BN, PH and PN announced that they would contest all 56 seats in the next Johor polls, setting the stage for potential three-cornered fights across the southern state. 

Onn Hafiz was the first to announce BN’s intention to contest the polls alone and not cooperate with any political pacts. 

A day later, Anwar said that if BN decides to not collaborate in Johor, PH is ready to also contest all state poll seats not only in the southern state, but also in Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Penang and Pahang - as well as potentially call for a snap general election. 

PH is made up of Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the Democratic Action Party, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) as well as other small component parties. 

It is the main coalition in Malaysia’s unity government, which also consists of BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, among other parties. 

After the last general election in 2022, results led to a hung parliament with no coalition having sufficient numbers to secure a simple majority. Anwar was sworn in as the new prime minister after securing the support of BN and other blocs in East Malaysia. 

Since then, BN and PH have worked together in by-elections as well as in state elections.

However, the ties between the two coalitions have been strained recently when 14 UMNO assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan withdrew their support in April for Chief Minister Aminuddin Harun over his handling of a crisis involving the state’s monarchy. 

Furthermore, the two coalitions have been trading barbs in Johor over electoral issues such as BN’s move to pass a Bill in the state assembly to appoint five non-elected assemblymen as well as PH’s call for redelineation of electoral boundaries in seats with a high number of voters. 

In addition, UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has proposed a grand collaboration of Malay-Islamic parties, which observers say indicates a willingness for UMNO to forge ties with the likes of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) - which is now in the federal opposition - to form the next government. 

Political analyst Azmi Hassan told CNA that he was slightly surprised that BN has decided to call for Johor polls ahead of Melaka polls, given that the latter is due earlier. 

However, he added that this could be a reflection of how confident BN Johor is of retaining the two-thirds majority it has in the state assembly. 

"I think the (Johor) chief minister is being opportunistic because PN is still in turmoil with its coalition partners having disagreements, and PH is facing (internal issues)," said the senior fellow at the Malaysia-based think tank Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research. 

Azmi was referring to how PN's biggest coalition parties - PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) - are having an increasingly public spat, which is pushing their relationship to the brink. 

Meanwhile, PH's Johor chapter has come under fire recently after it emerged that state assemblyman for the Skudai constituency - Marina Ibrahim - was reportedly asked by the party to contest in a different seat currently held by BN in the next elections, and that she would be offered chairmanship of a statutory body if she lost. 

Marina has since announced that she would not be contesting in the next polls and will be retiring from politics, but the issue has sparked anger from observers and PH supporters online who are of the view that incumbents should be given priority to defend their constituencies. 

"All these issues will give UMNO Johor an advantage in the coming polls," added Azmi.