There is a Malay leadership vacuum in Penang as the DAP's domination of the state's politics leaves its Malay partners struggling to appease the larger Malay ground out there.
MALIK Kassim's office is up in the sky on the 53rd floor of Penang's Komtar. It has a glorious view of the channel which shimmers like silver in the mid-morning light, and a less glorious view of the rather shabby rooftops of old George Town. But you do not want to be up there if you are afraid of heights or, worse, if there is a big earthquake over in Sumatra.