PAHANG Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail announced the dissolution of the Pahang assembly effective today, to allow state elections to be held simultaneously with the general election (GE). 

Wan Rosdy said he was granted an audience with Pahang Regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to seek consent for the dissolution of the state assembly.

He said Tengku Hassanal, in accordance with Clause(2), Article 26, Part Two of the Pahang constitution, had given his consent for the Pahang assembly to be dissolved, effective today. 

“Today was chosen to allow the tabling and debate on the state Budget 2023 to be completed first, thus obtaining approval to be implemented next year,” he said. 

He said this at a special press conference at Wisma Sri Pahang in Kuantan today, which was also attended by state secretary Sallehuddin Ishak and all members of the state executive council.

He said Pahang’s reason for participating in the upcoming GE is to avoid the election process being repeated as state polls have to be held in less than a year.

“Conducting elections simultaneously can save costs in various aspects, such as in the management and operation of the elections. The parallel start and end of terms of the state and federal governments will facilitate various administrative affairs. 

“This will allow the state government to focus on the state’s management and development agenda more effectively. Therefore, the state government believes there is a need to also participate in GE15,” he said. 

With the dissolution, Wan Rosdy expressed his appreciation to the people of Pahang who put their trust in him and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to govern the state for more than four years.

He said he hopes his government’s excellent achievements this term and the interesting agenda presented for the budget will be in the back of the people’s minds when they consider retaining BN’s mandate as Pahang’s administrator.

Citing an example of BN’s achievements, Wan Rosdy said revenue collection exceeded RM1 billion, investments reached RM20.5 billion, and the state’s debt was successfully reduced by 71% from RM3.31 billion to RM952 million. 

“God willing, if the mandate continues to be given to us in GE15, which will be held soon, I will ensure that BN will do a much better job than what we have done this term,” he said.

Wan Rosdy also expressed his gratitude to the Agong and crown prince who consented to appointing him as Pahang menteri besar. 

In the last GE, BN secured 25 out of 42 state seats, while Pakatan Harapan scored nine and PAS won eight. – Bernama, October 14, 2022.