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Melaka BN gears up for state election

This would be the second state election since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

Staff Writers
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Voters in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah wait to cast their ballots under Covid-19 SOPs in last year's state election. Photo: Bernama
Voters in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah wait to cast their ballots under Covid-19 SOPs in last year's state election. Photo: Bernama

Barisan Nasional (BN) in Melaka is gearing up for state polls following the withdrawal of support by four assemblymen for the chief minister yesterday, with the election machinery at all levels told to mobilise immediately in the event that the state legislative assembly is dissolved.

A circular issued by Melaka BN urged all division election directors in the state to ensure victory for the coalition.

This would be the second state election to be held since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

The Sabah election, which saw Warisan’s Shafie Apdal toppled as chief minister, was held in September 2020.

This latest situation arose after Idris Haron (BN-Sungai Udang), Nor Azman Hassan (BN-Pantai Kundor), Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Independent-Pengkalan Batu) and Noor Effandi Ahmad (Bersatu-Telok Mas) declared that they had lost confidence in the leadership of Sulaiman Md Ali.

Idris, a former chief minister who had previously denied talk of switching camps or withdrawing support, said he and the others had lost confidence in Sulaiman as well as the entire state government.

“We have also resigned (as excos), meaning that the government can no longer stand,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

When asked why they had revoked their support, he said the state government had “flip-flopped” on its decisions.

The Melaka state assembly, long held by BN, fell to Pakatan Harapan (PH) in 2018 which won 15 seats compared to BN’s 13.

Sulaiman, from Umno, was sworn in as chief minister in March last year following the collapse of the PH government.