Penang to unveil ‘unity manifesto’

Novel attraction: Plastic figurines of DAP’s mascot, which is a deer called ‘Jaguh’.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Pakatan Harapan will unveil a “unity manifesto” with input from Barisan Nasional.

“On Aug 1, we will present the joint manifesto for Penang, and formally introduce the 40 unity candidates.

“To show our commitment to the camaraderie, we will present all 40 of them as unity candidates,” said Penang Pakatan chairman Chow Kon Yeow.

He promised the occasion will be a “special” one as it will mark the first time the two coalitions joined hands to work out a list of shared commitments for the Penang electorate.

“We will touch on our previous manifesto as well to see how we have progressed and if some of it has not been achieved, we will continue to work on it,” he said during a press conference held at the state DAP headquarters here yesterday.

Chow also announced that a mega ceramah to be attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was slated to be held on the mainland on Aug 5.

The Penang DAP chairman also said that plastic figurines of DAP’s mascot, a deer called “Jaguh”, will be sold at RM80 each as part of the party’s fund-raising efforts.

A soft toy version will be available soon.

Of the 40 state seats in Penang, 29 are straight fights, seven are three-cornered, and four are four-cornered fights.

Penang Pakatan is expected to face tough fights against Perikatan Nasional in at least 15 seats in which the majority of the voters are Malays.

But Perikatan faced its own tension when PAS supporters were notably absent for the nomination of candidates for the Bayan Lepas seat.

Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau, who is also state Perikatan chairman, is contesting the seat that has a 64% Malay-majority voter base.

Prior to nomination day, certain unhappy quarters in PAS, which is part of Perikatan, had purportedly threatened to send a candidate as an Independent.

It’s now a one-on-one battle between Lau and incumbent Azrul Mahathir Aziz of Pakatan’s component party Amanah.

Asked about the absence of PAS supporters, Lau said he saw some PAS supporters in the crowd.

“I really do not know because nowadays we are with Perikatan and all wear the same attire.

“Some came to greet me and wish me good luck. I thanked them for that,” he said.

Another interesting match-up is the three-cornered tussle for the Air Putih seat on the island, where Lim Guan Eng will be up against ex-DAP assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, who is now with Parti Rakyat Malaysia, and Perikatan’s Kong Cheng Ann, of Perikatan-Gerakan.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Lim, a former finance minister and Penang chief minister, should be returned for a fourth term in the seat he first won in 2008.

Teh once contested the Air Putih seat under the DAP ticket in 2004 but lost to Barisan’s Lye Siew Weng.

He won the Tanjong Bunga seat twice from 2008 to 2018 under the DAP banner. He quit DAP in 2018.