Kelantan Joins Penang & Negeri Sembilan In Calling State Election, Three More To Go This Year

The Menteri Besar (head of government) of Malaysian state of Kelantan announced that he had sought an audience with the Sultan to advise him on a dissolution of the state assembly, paving the way for a fresh election.

• Kelantan is among the six states (alongside Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kedah) which did not dissolve their legislatures when last year's snap general election was called and must hold polls this year.
• Penang had earlier announced that its legislature will dissolve on June 28, while Negeri Sembilan will follow suit on June 30, in anticipation of the expiry of the terms of their respective assemblies.
• Kelantan state assembly is dominated by the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) which is part of the federal Perikatan Nasional alliance (although it doesn not use the PN banner in its strongholds of Kelantan and Terengganu).
• Out of the remaining four states, Kedah is also controlled by Perikatan Nasional, while Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan are ruled by federal Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan.
• It is unclear if the six states will hold elections simultaneously, albeit it would reduce the window of polarised political debate typically associated with polls. It is expected that the opposition could leverage local issues to attack the federal government.