State polls: Penang dissolves state assembly

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang State Legislative Assembly, which has 40 seats, is officially dissolved today to pave way for the state election.

The dissolution before the end of the five-year term, which ends on Aug 2, was announced by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in a press conference yesterday after receiving the consent of the Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak.

State Assembly Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang handed the official notification to Penang EC director Dr Siti Nazariah Abdul Zalim yesterday to enable the state election to be held.

The Penang State Assembly held its first meeting on Aug 1, 2018, after the 2018 general election.

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 it was quitting PH to join Perikatan Nasional (PN), and its 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).

Penang is among the six states that will hold state polls along with Kedah, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Kelantan.

-- BERNAMA