Selangor Legislative Assembly dissolves for GE14





SHAH ALAM, April 9 (Bernama) -- The Selangor Legislative Assembly dissolved today for the state election to be held simultaneously with the 14th general election.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali announced the dissolution of the assembly at the State Secretariat building here after getting the consent from the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. The sultan had signed the instrument of dissolution at Istana Alam Shah in Klang at about 10.30 am.

Parliament dissolved last Saturday to pave the way for GE14. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the dissolution a day earlier.

The mandate of the PKR-led Selangor government ends in June this year.

Selangor has 56 state seats. In GE13, DAP and PAS won 15 seats each and PKR was 14 while the Barisan Nasional won 12, all secured by UMNO.

The number of PKR seats subsequently reduced to 13 after the assemblyman then for Pelabuhan Klang, former Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, became an Independent following his expulsion from the party in 2014 after the so-called ?Kajang Move' to topple Abdul Khalid and replace him with then opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

PAS lost three seats when the assemblymen then, namely Saari Sungib (Hulu Klang), Hasnul Baharuddin (Morib) and Mohd Khairuddin Othman (Paya Jaras) quit the party. Saari and Hasnul joined Parti Amanah Negara while Mohd Khairuddin joined PKR. Mohd Khairuddin's move was announced at a ?ceramah' in Sungai Buloh last night.

Then Banting (previously Teluk Datuk) assemblyman Loh Chee Heng became an Independent in 2016 after his expulsion from DAP on allegations of abusing the funds allocated for his constituency.

The Sungai Air Tawar state seat fell vacant on Jan 17, 2017, after the BN elected representative Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik died of a heart attack. No by-election was held as it was less than two years before the next general election.

Of the 22 parliamentary seats in Selangor, the BN last held five - Sabak Bernam, Sungai Besar, Hulu Selangor, Tanjong Karang and Kuala Selangor - while the other 17 were held by PKR (nine), DAP (four) and PAS (also four).

PAS lost three of the seats when then Shah Alam MP Khalid Abd Samad, Kota Raja MP Siti Mariah Mahmud and Sepang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin quit the party to joint Amanah.

A by-election was held on June 18, 2016, for the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat after incumbent MP Tan Sri Noriah Kasnon died in a helicopter in Sebuyau, Sarawak, on May 5, 2016.

The BN retained the seat in the by-election through Budiman Mohd Zohdi who was then also the state assemblyman for Sungai Panjang.

-- BERNAMA