Coalition govt may not be formed in all states, says Zahid

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday hinted that the formation of a coalition government expected in Melaka might not 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 in Muar.

Zahid also said that the most important thing for the people was political stability, which would translate into an influx of investments 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 Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim) hopes for is political stability," said Zahid.

The political scene in Melaka has been in the spotlight since earlier this week, when Sulaiman Md Ali resigned as the 12th chief minister.

Melaka is currently fully governed by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. Melaka BN holds 21 of the 28 seats in the state assembly, while Pakatan Harapan (PH) has five seats and Perikatan Nasional (PN) has two.

Zahid, the Umno president, said the party had proposed Melaka Umno chairman Ab Rauf Yusoh for the chief minister’s post.

When asked what political changes were expected in Melaka under the new state government, he expressed confidence that the spirit of the coalition 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 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.

At the last Johor election, BN won more than two-thirds of the seats with 40 of the 56 contested seats, followed by PH with 13 seats and PN with three seats.