Penang state assembly officially dissolves

The Penang state legislative assembly, which has 40 seats, is officially dissolved today to pave the way for the state elections.

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 Law Choo Kiang handed the official notification to Penang Election Commission director 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, Pakatan Harapan (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, 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 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.