Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia said the move was a sign of fragility in coalition politics in Johor, especially in ties between BN and Pakatan Harapan. It would benefit BN as it would have full say on who to appoint as nominated assemblymen, said Azmil and independent consultant Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani of the Asia Group.

BN holds a two-thirds majority in the 56-member Johor assembly, after winning 40 seats in the 2022 state election, followed by PH (12), Perikatan Nasional (three) and Muda (one).

The Johor assembly approved an amendment to the state constitution on Thursday, allowing for the appointment of five nominated members, increasing the total number of state assemblymen to 61, despite opposition from federal allies DAP and PKR, as well as civil society groups. Johor is the fourth state to have appointed assemblymen after Sabah, Terengganu and Pahang.

Asrul said the appointed assemblymen would give BN greater flexibility in managing its alliances and political pressures, especially since they would be allowed to vote on bills in the legislature.

“This mechanism could provide additional room to consolidate control without relying solely on (the number of seats it wins in) elections,” he said.

He added that smaller parties could also benefit from this if BN uses the five new seats to accommodate allies who are electorally weak but politically useful.

However, Azmil rejected the argument that appointed assemblymen would improve governance or service delivery, saying reinstating local government elections would be a better way to empower communities.

“Adding more assemblymen, especially by appointment, does not improve governance and public service delivery, mainly because these assemblymen don’t serve any particular constituency, which also means they are not accountable to the people.”