TOO EARLY TO PREDICT HUNG ASSEMBLY IN SELANGOR, SPEAKER SAYS

(Malay Mail Online) – Selangor Speaker Hannah Yeoh said today it was “premature” to predict the possibility of a hung state assembly, following news of a mass exodus of PAS lawmakers to its new splinter group, Harapan Baru (HB).

She said the state assembly will remain at status quo for now as she has yet to receive official letters from any defecting PAS lawmakers.

“I think that is not for the Speaker to comment but it’s really up to the top party leadership, now it’s premature to discuss it.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is no official notice but things went on smoothly today,” she told reporters after today’s assembly sitting kicked off this morning.

“There was a level of maturity among the lawmakers to prioritise what is important to the people and what is merely a political speech,” she added.

Last Friday, it was reported that HB Selangor coordinator Izham Hashim said there will be a mass exodus of PAS members to Selangor’s HB chapter when it is launched at the end of the month.

Hulu Klang assemblyman Saari Sungib and Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharuddin who had already been suspended from PAS for a year following the Selangor Mentri Besar crisis last year, have confirmed that they are now HB members.

So far, at least one other state assemblyman, Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud has confirmed plans to join the new political party.

Izham, who is the Kelana Jaya PAS division chief, had said HB divisions in all of Selangor’s 22 parliamentary constituencies have been set up.

There are 13 PAS assemblymen in Selangor, excluding Saari and Hasnul.

DAP, in the meantime, has 15 seats while PKR has 13 seats in the 56-seat legislative assembly in the country’s most developed state led by Mentri Besar Azmin Ali from PKR.

To form a simple majority in the Selangor legislative assembly, 29 seats are needed.

After the fallout between DAP and PAS over the hudud issue, and the clean sweep of seats by the conservatives in the recent PAS party elections, HB was formed by members of the Islamist party’s progressive faction.

The movement, led by former deputy president Mohamad Sabu, was formed as an alternative to PAS, and is expected to replace the Islamist party once the opposition regroups to form a new pact.

So far, no official decision has been made about the new composition of the pact.

Currently, HB members are still PAS members as none of them had been sacked and the splinter group is not yet registered as a political party.

According to the PAS constitution, PAS members are not allowed to join another political party. If found out, the members would be sacked.