JOHOR BARU, Jan 20 — Johor state legislative assembly Speaker Suhaizan Kaiat tonight denied that he has received a letter for the dissolution of the state assembly.
Suhaizan confirmed that there is no such letter, including from Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad, touching on the dissolution of the state assembly.
“As of today I have not received any letter, thank you,” he said in a brief telephone conversation to Malay Mail tonight.
Earlier, rumours were rife claiming that the dissolution of the state assembly will take place by Sunday after a meeting with the state Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership this Saturday.
The rumour was further fuelled by a report by a news portal that alleged an application letter to dissolve the Johor state assembly by Hasni had been sent to the state assembly speaker’s office.
The report, quoting unnamed Umno sources, said that the Johor state assembly will be dissolved on Sunday.
Of late, speculation has been heated that Johor may hold a state election soon. Rumours about a snap state election started shortly after the death of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Kempas assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian last December 21.
The death of Osman, whose party is part of the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, had put the current state government situation as a one-seat majority in the Johor state assembly.
Hasni leads the state government with 28 seats. Barisan Nasional (BN) holds 16 seats while Bersatu has 11 seats and PAS one.
The opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition controls 27 seats in the Johor state assembly comprising DAP with 14, Parti Amanah Negara (six) and PKR (seven).
