Barisan Nasional losing two-thirds majority in Johor

With the appointment of Shahruddin Sallah, Jorak State Assemblyman, as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU) Secretary-General, Barisan Nasional effectively loses its two-thirds majority in the Johor State Assembly.

DAP Johor welcomes the development as part of the broader political realignment at both Johor and national levels.

The Johor State Assembly has 56 seats. In the 2013 general election, the opposition won 18 seats, of which 13 were from DAP. The election results in 2013 was a major breakthough for the opposition as Johor was previously seen as a bastion for the Barisan Nasional parties.

With Shahruddin’s quiting UMNO, the opposition has 19 seats or a third in the state assembly.

To form the Johor State Government, a realigned opposition would need another 10 seats, i.e. 29 seats.

There is no doubt that Johor is no longer the bastion for Barisan Nasional as it was. We are certainly aware of the difficulties ahead for the opposition but the latest development nonetheless broke a psychological barrier – BN loses two-thirds majority in Johor.

(Media statement by DAP Johor Chairman and MP for Kluang Liew Chin Tong in Kluang, Johor, on 7th October 2016)