Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong said the party will continue with its preparations for a separate snap election in Johor, despite Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin denying that such an election would be called.

Liew said those intending to call for a snap election would never admit it until the time is ripe to hold the election.

“If there is a snap election, he will of course want to deny it until he calls it. We will continue to work on preparing our ground.

“And I said, our aim is to make sure that we are better ready in every constituency that we had contested in by the end of this year. We will continue to work on that.

“But as I said, anyone who wants to call for a snap election will never admit it until he calls it,” Liew told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the Research for Social Advancement’s (Refsa) new library, the Library of Social Democracy, in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Earlier yesterday, Liew issued a statement saying that Johor DAP has been making preparations since May, in anticipation of facing a snap election in the state, to be held separately from the rest of the country.

He said Johor DAP is prepared to face such a possibility.

Liew claimed that Johor Umno elected representatives are in favour of this idea, to keep the newly formed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) from gaining a foothold in the state, and to distance the state Umno from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s unpopularity among voters.

However, Khaled (photo) rubbished suggestions of an impending snap state election, and dismissed it as “chit-chat among people in a chat group”.

“I am not part of the group and it does not involve me. We have no such intention,” The Star quoted Khaled as saying yesterday.

Meanwhile, Liew - who is also the Refsa chairperson - told reporters that Johor’s political environment is very dynamic at the moment, and that it is still premature and pointless to speculate on which seats would DAP contest in the state.

“We are in a period of realignment. We are in a period of watching how strong Bersatu is, and how to integrate with Bersatu. We are also in a period of trying to accommodate Amanah.

“I think that will all depend on what happens in the next half year,” he said.

He explained that Bersatu appears to be having an impact in Johor that is mostly psychological, as it undermines Umno’s grip in a state that used to be considered an Umno stronghold.

This comes after Jorak assemblyperson Shahruddin Salleh dumped Umno and was appointed as Bersatu secretary-general. This caused Johor BN to lose its two-thirds majority in the state assembly, for the first time.

However, Liew said it remains to be seen, over the course of the next six months, as to whether the new party could create a more lasting impression.

“What would happen in the months to come, no one knows. I think as long as Najib is still around, Bersatu will continue to make inroads and who knows what will happen,” he added.