Oh pens lyrics to campaign song

BARISAN Nasional’s fresh face Oh Tong Keong in Penang reaches out to his voters through his wife’s melodious singing.

And the Mandarin song that she sings has lyrics in Chinese written by Oh and sung to the tune of Taiwa-nese hit Hokkien song Jian Chi (Persistence).

Oh, who is contesting the Padang Kota state seat against Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow, said he penned the lyrics himself for the song, titled Ni De Wei Lai Wo Can Yu (Your Future, My Participation).

“The lyrics are my ideals to transform the constituency into a vibrant one if I win the seat.

“There are still many problems. Among them are issues involving poverty, infrastructure and the welfare of senior citizens staying in the area,” he said after launching his election theme song at his operations centre in Muntri Street on Monday.

Oh, from Gerakan, also unveiled his five-point manifesto — policy concerns, housing for everyone, vibrant heritage site, caring community and good quality of life.

At the Chowrasta Market on Sunday, Oh said he had organised many programmes there.

Among them were voters’ registration and registration for the BR1M 2.0 financial handouts by the Federal Government, he added.

“We hope the constituents can give us the mandate as Barisan has carried out many transformational programmes and many are still in the pipeline.

“We have a clear direction in nation building as outlined in our manifesto and policies,” he said.

Meanwhile, a sizeable crowd turned up for DAP’s ceramah on Sunday evening.

Among the speakers were Chow and DAP’s candidates Ng Wei Aik and Teh Lai Heng for the Tanjong parliamentary and Komtar state seats respectively.

Teh, in his speech, said Lebuh Acheh and Lebuh Armenian had become livelier after Pakatan Rakyat took over the state administration in 2008.

He said many of the rundown houses were turned into art gal- leries, commercial premises and eateries.

Before that, the area was almost dead after the Rent Control Act was repealed in 1999, he said.

“Many people moved out due to the escalation of rental rates. In fact, about 40% or 50% of the Komtar voters had moved out to Bandar Baru Air Itam or Paya Terubong.

“But now the area is alive again as many of the heritage houses have been refurbished. This is a boost for tourism,” he said.

On Monday, Teh, Chow, Ng and Pengkalan Kota candidate Lau Keng Ee met the constituents at the Campbell Street Market.