Ismail, who is also Umno vice-president, however, said any decision on the Johor state polls must first obtain the consent of the Sultan of Johor.

“Regarding the Johor state elections, in line with the decision by the Umno Supreme Council, it will be left to the state Umno liaison body to discuss in terms of preparation and decision making.

“Hence, we leave it to Johor Umno to decide whether to hold the state elections (or otherwise),” he said.

Ismail said this at a press conference after attending a special meeting with members of the Kelantan Umno political bureau here today.

Rumours have been circulating that the Johor menteri besar will dissolve the state assembly soon to enable elections to be held. This follows the recent death of Kempas assemblyman Osman Sapian which has left the Barisan Nasional-led (BN) government with only a one-seat majority in the Johor state assembly.

Currently, the Johor state assembly is led by BN with 28 seats comprising Umno (14 seats), MIC (2), Bersatu (11) and PAS (1), while Pakatan Harapan has 27 seats, with DAP (14), PKR (7) and Amanah (6).