THE Johor government will monitor whether there is a need to hold state elections considering it only has one majority seat in the State Legislative Assembly, Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad said.

Hasni said he would meet Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob soon to inform him about the state government’s position following the death of Kempas assemblyman Osman Sapian last Tuesday.

With the death of the lawmaker, he said, the state government was left with only one majority seat.

 “Therefore, I need to understand the reaction, especially among the parties that joined to form the state government, because we have agreed that this January 6, we will hold a special session to amend the Johor state constitution to lower the eligible voting age to 18,” he told reporters after flagging off the Johor Umno Youth and Rakyat Johor Flood Relief team at the state Umno liaison office in Johor Baru today.

Following Osman’s death on December 21, the state government, which is led by Barisan Nasional (BN) has 28 seats in the state legislative assembly, comprising BN (16), Bersatu (11) and PAS (one), while Pakatan Harapan has 27 seats.

Johor speaker Suhaizan Kaiat had said that there would be no by-election for the Kempas seat as it became vacant more than three years after the last general election. – Bernama, December 25, 2021.