DCM: Pakatan Harapan must settle question before Penang snap polls

GEORGE TOWN: One issue that must be ironed out in Pakatan Harapan before snap state elections are held is the roles to be played by PAS and Amanah in Penang.

The other priority is to ensure that there will only be one-on-one fights with Barisan Nasional, said Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon.

He said PKR did not say no to snap state elections, but had asked for time to discuss the reasons for it and to work out other issues.

“We want to make sure that everyone has a role to play. Don’t lose sight of the fact that PKR still has a relationship with PAS. We still talk,” he told reporters at an open house here yesterday.

PAS state commissioner Muham­mad Fauzi Yusof said the party wanted to contest in more state seats in Penang if snap polls were held.

The party contested in six state seats in 2013 but only won the Permatang Pasir seat, which it has held since the 1990s.

Separately, Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik told reporters that one of the reasons snap polls were considered was to restore the party’s integrity following the charges brought against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“If the integrity of DAP is at stake, then I think we should let the people decide.

“We do not want our integrity and legitimacy to be questioned because we are not able to run the state government smoothly,” he said.

Penang Umno said it was already prepared for any development.

“We will activate the operations rooms in all constituencies and polling centres and enter elections mode, seeing that Parliament will be dissolved within 24 months,” said state chief Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin in a statement.

He asked if the hidden agenda behind the snap elections move was for Lim to install a proxy or family member to contest and ensure that his family would continue to have control over Penang if he was to be found guilty.

Gerakan secretary-general Datuk Liang Teck Meng also said the party was ready for any election.

“Just thinking about dissolving the assembly is a sign of guilt on Lim’s part. We are ready to fight in Penang anytime if he calls for it,” he added.