KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 — Terengganu PAS has backed Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim’s suggestion for the three states under its control to dissolve their respective legislative assemblies for fresh elections as soon as possible.
Its election director Ariffin Deraman said the time to hold state elections in Terengganu, Kelantan, and Kedah is right to leverage on the “wave” of public support for Perikatan Nasional (PN) as seen during the November 19 general election, Utusan Malaysia reported today.
“The first wave was seen in the 15th general election which was the result of a tsunami of votes from the Malay community and young voters.
“This time, we will once again witness the rise of the second wave and I am confident that whenever the state elections are held, the wave will remain strong and unchanged,” he was quoted as saying.
Ariffin said that the PAS election machinery is ready to roll out any time for the state elections, whether early or late.
“If it is held early there is no problem or if it is delayed a little to May or June, the wave is still there for us to achieve a stylish victory in Terengganu,” he told the Malay daily.
Shahidan was reported saying yesterday that the political momentum currently favours PN and it should hold elections in the three states it controls after polling is done for Padang Serai in Kedah and Tioman in Pahang.
He claimed that many Malaysians felt anger towards the new coalition government formed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, especially after he announced his Cabinet last week.
Polling for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat was deferred to tomorrow following the abrupt death of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate, M. Karupaiya following a fall on the campaign trail.
Similarly for the Tioman state seat when the Perikatan Nasional candidate Yunus Ramli died from heart complications just hours before polling was to start on November 19.
Concurrent state and national elections on November 19 were held only for Perlis, Perak, and Pahang.
Three other states under PH rule — Penang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan — have yet to set a date to dissolve its respective assemblies.
