GEORGE TOWN – Caretaker chief minister Chow Kon Yeow has been named by the DAP election selection committee to continue as the state’s top executive if Pakatan Harapan (PH) is to return to power after next month’s state election.
The incumbent Padang Kota assemblyman was sanctioned to continue into his second term as chief minister by the selection committee headed by DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng, deputy chairman Gobind Singh Deo, vice presidents Nga Kor Ming and M. Kulasegaran, as well as secretary-general Anthony Loke.
Loke said in a statement that Chow was the unanimous choice during the meeting held late last night in Kuala Lumpur.
The matter was also relayed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is the PH chairman.
Loke added that the committee also decided to conduct a major renewal in the state executive councillors’ line-up if PH is given a new mandate to continue governing Penang.
For the past 15 years, the DAP-led PH has become the dominant power in Penang, with a clear-cut majority in the last term when it seized 37 out of the 40 state seats.
“The renewal process is needed to ensure a balanced and continued DAP leadership that is younger, dynamic, and capable of meeting the challenges of leading Penang on the path of prosperity and well-being,” said Loke.
The list of candidates who will represent DAP in the coming 15th state election will be decided by the committee next week, and all candidates will be announced at least one week before nomination day, Loke said.
Nominations in the six state elections of Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan, and Terengganu are fixed by the Election Commissions for July 29, early voting on August 8, and polling day on August 12.
Chow, who is a veteran of the Penang DAP scene, was a former political secretary to DAP czar Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, a Tanjong MP, and a long-serving Padang Kota assemblyman.
However, his first term administration has been riddled with allegations that he was indecisive on some matters in relation to governance as the state exco battled the dire consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, global economic uncertainty, and inflation.
Political scientist Prof Sivamurugan Pandian said that it was wise for DAP to avoid the mistakes of Gerakan in the 2008 election, when the latter did not respond to speculation on who would be chief minister until the voting ended.
By then, it was too late, as the party lost all of its seats in the 2008 election.
Sivamurugan said the early announcement of candidates or choices for key leadership is a good political strategy, as it allows PH to focus fully on defending their seats instead of allowing too much lobbying to interfere in the process of getting elected.
A senior Penang DAP leader told The Vibes that the selection of candidates is like wading through a “landmine”, given the standing of DAP as a key political party in Penang. – The Vibes, July 14, 2023
