All eyes on team PH-BN

The unity government will have to find a win-win solution fast as the Penang state assembly will be dissolved next week.

THE durian season is going full steam ahead but there’s a different kind of thorny issue that has become the talk of the town: the coming six state elections.

And it is not about election campaigns or ceramah, which are sure to be hot and intense in Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan and Selangor.

No, the big question mark is whether Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional can bury the hatchet and actually work together.

Can wounds really heal that fast for the two old foes to become proper running mates in the elections?

How will the grassroots and supporters react to this marriage of convenience?

Now in the same political pact, there is the likelihood of DAP supporters for the first time having to vote for Umno candidates, and vice-versa.

Party members and volunteers, too, will have to cooperate during the campaign period.

Having ruled Penang for 15 years, Pakatan will need every bit of support it can get to beat Perikatan Nasional in this election to retain power.

After several rounds of talks between Pakatan and Barisan, it is understood that there are still some issues, mostly centred on the Malay-dominated constituencies that have yet to be decided on.

A final decision to sort out this impasse now lies with Pakatan and Barisan leaders in Putrajaya. These Malay areas are where Perikatan is said to be quite strong based on the results of the 15th General Election last year.

The unity government will have to find a win-win solution fast as the Penang state assembly will be dissolved on June 28, and state polls are likely to be held simultaneously in the six states in August.

For Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, this will spell his last term as chief executive.

It will definitely not be a shoo-in for the quietly-spoken 65-year-old politician. This time, he is facing “enemies” outside and within his own party.

Just last month, it was reported that a group of DAP lawmakers had plotted against Chow as they claimed that he was too weak and behaving like a civil servant.

Chow’s first term has not been easy at all, as he had to face the Covid-19 pandemic halfway through his term in office.

The impact of Covid-19 took its toll on everyone in one way or another, and his administration was not spared either.

With the country now slowly easing its way back to full recovery, Penang has made good progress in terms of foreign direct investment, with the manufacturing sector back at full speed.

And Chow’s Penang2030 Vision encompassing “A Family-Focused, Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation” is very much on track.

Some of the projects under the RM46bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) to ease the chronic traffic jam problems in the state have also started.

During his recent visit to Penang on June 11, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urged Penangites to retain Pakatan leaders, who he said had done well to govern the state.

Chow, however, expects a tough battle for Pakatan in this election.

“It’s a test to see how far the unity government has been accepted by the people.

“In Penang, the state government still has a few major projects yet to be completed. They are all beneficial for Penangites, especially the LRT which is part of the PTMP.

“I hope voters will give Pakatan the mandate again, so that we can fulfil all our promises to make the state a cleaner, better and safer place to live for everyone,” he said.

Chow, who holds a Bachelor in Social Sciences (Hons) degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia, is expected to defend his Padang Kota seat.

As the state DAP chairman, he will lead his 19 party comrades onto the battleground.

With the polls just around the corner, election fever can be felt now as political parties get busy on their election machinery.

On June 17, Perikatan chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was present to launch the election machinery during the Perikatan convention at the Gerakan headquarters in George Town.

Two weeks ago, Perikatan also kicked off its election machinery in Pendang, Kedah, and Kubang Semang in Penang.

And early this month, Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki was in town to supervise the party’s preparations for the polls.

As it stands now in Penang, DAP has 19 seats, PKR 12, Amanah two, Umno two and PAS has one seat.

Four state seats have been left vacant after the four Pribumi assemblymen were all deemed to have “lost” their seats after the party left Pakatan in 2020 – based on the anti-hopping provision contained in Article 14A of the state constitution.

And before the king of fruits’ season is over, many Malaysians will be heading to the ballot boxes.

Note: As of April 2018, Penang has 945,627 voters. In its last state election in 2018, a total of 155 candidates had vied for the 40 state seats.