SHAH ALAM - Selangor and five other state governments are having informal discussions on holding state elections simultaneously in 2023 as part of a cost-cutting measure, said Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.

The Gombak MP said that informal discussions with the state governments of Penang and Negeri Sembilan, as well as the Parti Islam SeMalaysia-led states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu for a joint dissolution were ongoing to enable state elections to take place at the same time.

“In principle, Selangor and the other state leaders hope to dissolve simultaneously so that state elections can be held quicker and without incurring higher costs,” said Datuk Seri Amirudin.

“This is not about winning or losing, but looking at the costs, manpower and other considerations,” he added on the sidelines of the Selangor state assembly on Thursday.

Mr Amirudin said that although there was no timeline for when the joint dissolution could take place, there was a likelihood that the state elections may be held after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations in 2023.

Celebrations for the festival are expected to take place in April.

The timing, said Mr Amirudin, will depend on the weather and the situation of the federal government.

The recent 15th general election (GE15) saw only three states – Pahang, Perak and Perlis – having concurrent state polls.

The state government of Perak is currently an alliance comprising Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN), while in Pahang, BN and PH are also forming a state government, though no officials have been sworn in yet.

In rural Perlis, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition is administering the northern state after winning 14 of the 15 seats, turning the state away from BN for the first time since Independence. PH won the remaining seat.

The remaining states did not hold concurrent state polls, with Sabah, Melaka, Johor and Sarawak having already held their state elections before GE15.

Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Penang opted to sit it out.

Mr Amirudin said those six states did not dissolve their state assemblies in the last general election, as there were no informal discussions held among the six earlier.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK