Penang Pakatan chairman Chow Kon Yeow said local voters working in other states or even overseas should come back, and give the caretaker unity government an overwhelming mandate.
“We are a state government with a proven track record since 2008. We managed to fulfil 93% of our 2018 manifesto promises, and we are also on track to becoming a family-centric and green state by 2030,” he said.
He was speaking to more than 500 supporters at the Chinese Town Hall in Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling during the inaugural ceramah for the state election.
Also present was DAP’s Air Itam candidate Joseph Ng Soon Siang who urged Penangites not to gamble with their future by not coming back to vote, as “there is no sure thing” in this state election.
“It is not good to assume that Pakatan candidates are a ‘shoo-in’, as anything can happen. So, Penangites must tell their friends, relatives and colleagues to come back and come out to vote,” said Ng.
Datok Keramat candidate and incumbent Jagdeep Singh Deo, who was one of the ceramah speakers, said that under the state government’s Green Agenda launched in 2021, Penang aimed to plant 500,000 trees by 2030.
“The good news is that we are already very far ahead of schedule as to date, some 470,000 trees have been planted all over the state.
“Also, since I became the state housing and local government committee chairman, about 76,000 units of affordable housing costing between RM150,000 to RM300,000 have been built statewide,” he said.
First-time Pengkalan Kota candidate Wong Yuee Harng, 35, who was one of the speakers, said if elected, he would do his best to improve the lives of the people as what he had been doing since getting involved in politics 11 years ago.
“I started from the bottom as an assistant to a DAP member of Parliament and also an assemblyman, to later become Penang Island City Council (MBPP) councillor for the past eight years.
“I may be short like a cili padi but I am very spicy, and I will fight for the rights of my constituents while improving their socio-economic status,” he said.
Another first-timer is Seri Delima candidate Connie Tan, 33, who said she joined DAP in 2012 upon returning to Penang from the United Kingdom after she graduated with a law degree.
“I joined the party with the intention of making my voice heard, as I just wanted to help Penang prosper. I had no lofty ambition whatsoever then and never thought that I would ever be selected to be a state election candidate,” said Tan.
For Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo, 61, being the oldest candidate with no political experience is not a deterrent as he feels his experience as a developer will help to solve the housing woes in the Perai constituency.
“I can also help to solve the squatter and flood problems in Perai. My life in the corporate world has been good, and now is the time for me to give back to society.
“I consider my candidacy to be a form of ‘national service’ for Penang over the next five years,” said the former chief operations officer of developer Ecoworld Development Group Bhd.
Other candidates who spoke at the event were Lim Guan Eng (Air Putih), Ong Ah Teong (Batu Lancang), Kumaran Krishnan (Bagan Dalam), H’ng Mooi Lye (Jawi), Daniel Gooi (Padang Lalang), Phee Syn Tze (Sungai Puyu), Chee Yeeh Keen (Bagan Jermal) and Joshua Woo Sze Zeng (Pulau Tikus).
Veteran DAP politician Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang and Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid also spoke at the three-hour ceramah which started at about 8pm.
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