Last push for Penang votes

GEORGE TOWN: Pakatan Harapan will need a convincing win in the coming state polls not only to silence critics of the unity government, but also to help improve the people’s quality of life in the aftermath of the pandemic.

State Pakatan chairman Chow Kon Yeow said a strong mandate would allow the government to carry out all its promises smoothly and without interference.

“All the mega projects being planned for the future should help boost the state’s economy and the livelihood of Penangites after the impact of Covid-19.

“We harbour a dream to help all Malaysians, especially Penangites, have a good quality of life.

“After working tirelessly, everyone should enjoy the fruits of their labour,” said Chow, who is also Penang Chief Minister, adding that the preferable date for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly was towards the end of June.

The state election must be held within 60 days of the dissolution.

Pakatan is expected to contest all 40 state seats and Chow will spearhead the coalition’s hope of retaining power. This will be his second and final term in office as Chief Minister.

Chow became Penang’s fifth chief minister in 2018, taking over from Lim Guan Eng, who had served as chief minister between 2008 and 2018.

Barring any changes, Chow is expected to defend his Padang Kota seat, which he first won in 2008.

Penang is the only state whose constitution explicitly restricts the chief minister to two terms.

“Our track record speaks for itself. Whatever we do, first and foremost, we have the interests and welfare of the people at heart.

“The state government’s policy has always been ‘to treat all races equally’. This has not changed since the first day Pakatan took over the state,” Chow said.

“All races here have been well taken care of. Nobody’s left behind. We hope voters will give us another chance to serve them.”

Projects in the pipeline include the Penang South Island (PSI), the Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit, the Pan Island Link 1 and the Ayer Itam-Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu bypass.

The three man-made islands to be reclaimed under PSI are meant to inject more investment into the state and create job opportunities for Malaysians.

All the projects are in line with Chow’s Penang2030 vision of “a family-focused green and smart state that inspires the nation”.

“To realise Penang 2030, we need to get a strong mandate from voters in the coming state election,” said Chow.

Universiti Sains Malaysia Centre for Policy Research and International Studies (CenPRIS) director Assoc Prof Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said the PSI project could be among the hot topics during the campaigning period.“Although it is an important project, we are not sure how the people will react to it, and it will surely be played up by Chow’s political rivals,” he said.

Azeem added that in his personal opinion, Chow had done a very good job in his first term as Chief Minister.

From now until the state election in July, talk on seat allocations will go on intensely between Pakatan and Barisan Nasional as part of the unity government.

Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional believes it has a 50/50 chance to wrest control of Penang if all coalition partners fare well in the election.

State Perikatan deputy chairman Oh Tong Keong said that in order to win, the coalition needed to garner the people’s trust and support by introducing better policies.

“As of now, our focus is to go down to the ground and work in the constituencies we are going to contest,” he said.

Oh said the coalition was targeting 23 seats, which they believed would perform well, including the 15 Malay-dominated areas.“The seat negotiation is almost complete, with more than 90% of seats being decided. However, talk is still ongoing. The support for Perikatan is obvious, especially from the Malays,” he said.

State PAS commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff said the coalition would use a common logo in the upcoming state elections.

“We will go to the polls as one entity. It’s Perikatan versus Pakatan Harapan,” he said, adding that the election machinery was now on standby.

In the 2018 state elections, DAP captured the most seats (19), followed by PKR with 14 and two each for Parti Amanah Negara, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Umno. One seat went to PAS.

A total of 40 seats will be up for grabs this time, with the main battle likely to be between Pakatan and Perikatan.