State elections: Six-state meeting to be held next week

GEORGETOWN - Leaders of six states looking to conduct simultaneous state elections will meet next week to discuss suitable dates to dissolve their state assemblies. Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the meeting was in order for a concensus to be reached a consensus and will be organised by Selangor.

“The meeting will be held next week with Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shari organising the meeting.

"The time period (for the dissolution and to hold state elections) is getting closer. If there is no meeting, the state elections will continue to be held between June or July,” he said when inaugurating Armenian Park as Penang’s first reality park on Friday.

Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) previously proposed for state elections to be held in June.

Chow who is the Penang PH chairman said state PH leaders who had a meeting previously agreed that June was the best time to hold the state elections due to the short window to dissolve the state assemblies.

The six states to hold the state elections are Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

The Election Commission (EC) was of a view that the state elections should be held simultaneously as discussed by several parties.

Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said the steps could simplify EC’s management including the coordination of staff in ensuring the process of appointing the Assemblymen in the six states goes smoothly.