The Sarawak state legislative assembly may be dissolved in the next two to three weeks, a veteran Sarawak politician speculates.

According to The Star today, veteran Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) leader Peter Minos said he expects it to be dissolved, at latest, by the first week of April.

However, he said, Chief Minister Adenan Satem is keeping the decision "close to his chest".

Minos said Adenan's recommended dates of April 18 and 30 for nomination and polling respectively were telling signs, even though the final decision is still the prerogative of the Election Commission (EC).

“The chief minister is keeping the dissolution very close to his chest. He still has to solve the problems of the four disputing parties with regard to seats and candidates,” Minos ( photo ) was reported as telling The Star .

He said Adenan may solve the seat allocation impasse by fielding "direct BN candidates".

The report also quoted Universiti Malaysia Sarawak political analyst Jeniri Amir as speculating that the election would "most likely be held on May 7 or 14, at the latest”.

However, Jeniri did not elaborate on the reasons for expecting a later date.

PKR and DAP politicians told Malaysiakini last week they do not expect Adenan to delay the elections beyond April, as a postponement would not be beneficial to him.

Into its fifth year, the present state assembly's term expires on June 20, after which it will be automatically dissolved.

The highly-anticipated state election comes after a controversial battle over the state's delineation exercise, and BN's present stormy internal rift between forces demanding Prime Minister Najib Razak's resignation and his loyalists.