GEORGE TOWN – Chow Kon Yeow is grateful he has been given the mandate by the DAP top leadership to continue as chief minister should voters here vote in Pakatan Harapan (PH).
The caretaker chief minister said he appreciates the support and confidence of the top DAP leadership while also expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for endorsing his candidacy as the chief minister.
Chow, who is also the Penang PH chief, said that now the focus is on retaining the state.
“I am grateful for this opportunity and importantly, I will also get the chance to lead the PH electoral machinery into the coming state election,” Chow said after meeting diners at the sprawling New World food court here in Macalister Road.
He also expressed his gratitude to the civil service for their assistance and services in aiding his past administration during the struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic and in helping Penang record impressive economic growth since then.
For last year, Penang outpaced the national average by registering a 13.1% gross domestic product growth – the highest in the country.
Chow said that he would try his best to ensure that PH retains Penang with an impressive margin.
For the last election, PH won 37 out of 40 state seats.
He added that the list of candidates for the 40 state seats in Penang, is scheduled to be released next week.
This time, the new ally Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to contest six seats with DAP taking 19, while the rest are shared among the PH components of PKR and Amanah.
Nominations for the election in six states are scheduled for July 29, with early and postal voting on August 8 followed by actual polling on August 12.
Penang joins five others Kedah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu in holding their respective state elections.
Meanwhile, speculations continue to mount over whether the DAP veterans such as P. Ramasamy, Chong Eng, Phee Boon Poh, Jagdeep Singh Deo and Yeoh Soon Hin will be retained by the DAP leadership for the 19 seats accorded to the party.
This is following an assertion by DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke to expect changes to the state executive councillors’ line-up as the party craves to have younger, dynamic and more responsive representation in the coming elections. – The Vibes, July 14, 2023.
