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

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.