PETALING JAYA: The simultaneous polls for the six states are likely to be held by mid-August after the end of the Haj season, says Parti Bersatu Pribumi Malaysia information chief Datuk Razali Idris.
“We hope that it will fall on a Saturday and not a working day, which will make it harder for those who have to return home to fulfil their obligation as voters,” he said when contacted yesterday.
He also said that mid-August would be an apt timing for the polls because those who performed their Haj pilgrimage would have since returned to the country by then.
The Haj pilgrimage culminates on June 28, with pilgrims returning to the country by early August.
Razali said that Bersatu and its allies had already prepared their workers for the elections.
“We don’t need to rely on volunteers and we have our own party members who have undergone training to be polling and counting agents.
“They are ready together with our election machinery,” he said.
Although the dissolution dates are different for the six states, leaders from both the ruling government and opposition had agreed to hold polling simultaneously in six states, namely Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
The Selangor state assembly will automatically dissolve on June 26, while Penang announced that it will dissolve its state assembly on June 28 and Negri Sembilan on June 30.
Kelantan is expected to announce its dissolution date today, while the state assemblies of Terengganu and Kedah will automatically dissolve on July 1 and 4, respectively.
Meanwhile, election analyst Dr G. Manimaran said the Election Commission (EC) was well prepared to hold the polls by mid-August.
“If the state assemblies are dissolved by the end of June and the first week of July, the EC will need about four to five weeks to prepare for the polls.
“The end of the second week of August should be about the right time,” he said yesterday.
He said the EC had ample time to get ready for the polls.
“This is the first time in history that the EC was given advance notice to prepare.
“They had a good five to six months to prepare since January after the meeting between mentris besar and chief minister to agree on simultaneous polls,” he said.
Dr Manimaran also noted that an indication of a mid-August polling day could be seen after the EC issued a postal voting notification last week.
“This will clear the way for voting day by mid-August after nominations are done by the end of July,” he added.
He said that polling would be wrapped up just as the nation begins its Merdeka Day festivities, which are usually in mid-August.
When contacted, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said the commission was ready to carry out the state election process after the dissolution of the six state assemblies.
“The cost estimation to conduct the state polls for all six states is RM420mil,” added Abdul Ghani.
