Zahid, MCA slam Nga for criticising EC over Johor, N Sembilan polling dates

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has defended the Election Commission and took DAP deputy chairperson Nga Kor Ming to task for criticising the electoral body's decision not to hold the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state polls simultaneously.

Zahid said the EC's authority to decide on polling days for both polls should not be questioned, especially by a cabinet member.

“No individual should question the EC’s authority, especially a cabinet minister who is also a senior leader in a party that is part of the government,” the deputy prime minister was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today at a press conference today.

Yesterday, EC chairperson Ramlan Harun announced that the Johor state election will be held on July 11, and the Negeri Sembilan polls on Aug 1.

He explained that the elections could not be held simultaneously due to logistical considerations, election personnel training, and the level of operational preparedness.

Nga had chastised the EC’s explanation for the differing dates as “absurd” and “ridiculous”.

The housing and local government minister urged the entire commission to resign if it cannot hold simultaneous elections for two states that dissolved their assemblies just three days apart.

Muda had also criticised the EC's decision, with its vice-president Leben Siddarth saying that while Ramlan's justification may explain why polling for Negeri Sembilan will be held later, it does not explain why Johor’s election date could not be aligned accordingly.

“If the objective was to ensure adequate preparation, then extending Johor’s timeline by a short period would have achieved the same outcome while allowing both elections to be conducted simultaneously,” he said in a statement.

Leben highlighted that holding simultaneous elections would reduce costs, simplify logistics, and lessen the strain on election workers and volunteers.

‘Nga trapped in opposition mindset’

MCA Youth information chief Neow Choo Seong echoed Zahid's sentiment.

He said Nga is still "trapped in the pre-2018 opposition mindset that is inclined towards fault-finding and political point-scoring".

Neow suggested that Nga has either failed to understand the facts or deliberately ignored them for political gain since the EC already provided clear logistical and legal explanations.

"To Nga, stop the habit of public outbursts in the media. The government needs functioning ministers, not ministers who undermine the system from within," he added.

No betrayal

In a related development, Zahid reportedly denied that Umno had betrayed Pakatan Harapan in Negeri Sembilan.

Umno had ultimately instructed its 14 state assembly members to continue supporting the caretaker menteri besar Aminuddin Harun, after they had initially withdrawn their backing, FMT reported him as saying.

READ MORE: Harapan leaders frame N Sembilan polls as verdict on BN 'betrayal'

Zahid added that although Umno had agreed to support Aminuddin until the end of his term, it was ultimately his prerogative to seek the dissolution of the state assembly and call for an election.

“I don’t think there’s any betrayal,” he added.

The Umno president also reportedly brushed aside criticism from DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong, who described Umno as hypocritical in its approach to cooperation with Harapan.

“Political partners should look after the feelings of their allies. They should watch their tongue,” Zahid was quoted as saying.

On June 10, Woo doubled down on claims that Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan was involved in an alleged attempt to topple the Negeri Sembilan government.

Citing allegations in a purportedly leaked May 25 letter from Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin to PAS leaders, Woo, who is also the Harapan Youth chief, rejected assertions that BN had “no choice” but to contest solo in the upcoming state polls.

Instead, Woo insisted that the dissolution of the Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly stemmed from the “betrayal” of 14 Umno assemblypersons, whom he accused of pursuing a backdoor takeover of the state administration.

“Now that Muhyiddin’s letter has exposed everything, certain BN leaders are ‘acting like victims’ and twisting the narrative by claiming they are forced to contest solo because Harapan had already planned to contest all seats (in Negeri Sembilan).

“This is a lie and a denial of facts that are plainly obvious, and highly hypocritical.

“The betrayal in Negeri Sembilan involved not only ordinary assemblypersons, but also a cabinet minister who is also the Umno deputy president,” Woo claimed.

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