MUAR, March 30 — Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today hinted that the formation of a unity government that is expected to happen in Melaka may not necessarily occur in other states, including Johor.

The deputy prime minister said this was because the political situation in Melaka differed from those in other states.

"I hope there is no speculation because the important thing is political stability, not only at the national level, but we believe that stability also needs to be established for the administration in each state,” he told reporters during the ‘Santunan Kasih Ramadan’ programme at Masjid Jamek Kampung Sungai Gersik, here, today.

Amad Zahid said the most important thing for the people was political stability, which would translate to an influx of investment as well as economic opportunities based on better investor trust.

"Stability will also bring confidence to the people in the leadership of the state itself and I believe that what the Honourable Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) hopes for is political stability,” said Ahmad Zahid.

The political scene in Melaka has been in the spotlight since yesterday when Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali resigned as the 12th Chief Minister.

Melaka is currently fully governed by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. BN Melaka has 21 out of 28 seats in the State Assembly, while Pakatan Harapan has five seats and Perikatan Nasional has two.

Ahmad Zahid who is also Umno president said today the party had proposed Melaka Umno chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh for the chief minister’s post.

When asked what political changes were expected in Melaka under the new state government leadership, the Umno president expressed confidence that the spirit of the Unity Government at the national level would be successfully translated at the state level, as well as in the next six state elections.

"We must allow good optics and narratives to widen the formation of this unity government at the state level. I was also informed that at the Johor state level, it is being implemented in its own way, where the state government has given appropriate allocations to all members of the Johor State Assembly.

"And this certainly provides good optics for the Johor state government and it will certainly be able to provide a balance between the state government represented by Barisan Nasional assemblymen and assemblymen from other coalition parties, including those not aligned with the Federal government,” he said.

In the last Johor State Election, BN won more than two-thirds of the seats by winning 40 of the 56 contested seats, followed by Pakatan Harapan with 13 seats and Perikatan Nasional with three seats.

Also present at the ceremony tonight were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and Umno vice president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who is also a former Johor menteri besar. — Bernama