THE decision by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to withdraw from the state DAP election race leaves us with the burning question: Who could replace him?
Chow led the party for some 25 years, including when the socialist group was in the doldrums.
He stepped into the fray in 1999 when both iconic leaders – Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang and the late Datuk Seri Karpal Singh – lost in the parliamentary elections that year.
Chow led the movement up to the watershed 2008 election when DAP stormed into power in Penang.
From the 1980s until early 2000s, DAP could not capture Penang due to the might of the then ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, of which Gerakan was its lynchpin.
Forever regarded as a “gentleman politician”, Chow gave way to then-DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to become the chief minister in 2008 before the former assumed the role in 2018 until now.
Along the way, Chow infused Penang DAP with new blood such as Ng Wei Aik, Yeoh Soon Hin, Teh Lai Heng, and political secretary Lau Keng Ee, who defended the party’s hold on the DAP heartland in the Tanjong (George Town) constituency.
Just like Chow, his proteges are renowned within party circles as “working class” politicians more dedicated to serving rather than just leading the charge.
At 65, Chow may yet continue his political journey, as DAP is considering asking him to continue as a parliamentarian since he is the current Batu Kawan MP and DAP vice-president.
Party insiders told The Vibes that Chow has kept to the script of relinquishing his state positions in Penang DAP, saying it was time for a new state leadership to emerge by 2030.
During this month’s Penang DAP election, a few names have emerged as potential successors to Chow. They are Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying, and state executive councillor Wong Hon Wai.
Hui Ying is seen as a serious contender as her father is Lim Kit Siang while her eldest brother is Lim Guan Eng.
Other names thrown into the fray include Selangor DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo, the second son of Karpal Singh and executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari, the son of former minister Tan Sri Khir Johari.
There is also talk that Guan Eng may return as chief minister although insiders doubt it because his hands are full leading DAP and clearing his name in court.
University of Tasmania political scientist James Chin said it was an open secret that Chow was not in agreement with Guan Eng over how Penang was being governed.
Chin noted that there were two factions emerging in the Penang DAP elections: one aligned to Chow and the other to Guan Eng.
“It is also about the Lim clan in DAP who led the party during its formation in the 1960s to the dark days of the 1970s until mid-2000s.”
“The question now is would DAP continue to hold them in such regard as during their glory days,” he said.
DAP is now led by Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, whose crafty skills were evident when he brokered a pact with Chow to give up his state party chairmanship while allowing the latter to serve as chief minister until his second and final term ended, Chin said.
He added that Penang was the “jewel in the crown” of the party, so finding new leadership was crucial if DAP wanted to maintain its hold on the state.
Sim is a rising star in DAP with positive social media exposure of him helping poor Malays, Chinese and Indians in his parliamentary constituency of Bukit Mertajam.
He is also a learned technocrat, having co-led the Penang Institute, the state’s think tank, after Liew Chin Tong relocated to Johor to carry out the party’s aspirations there.
However, Sim has no grassroots base, and his tendency to lean too much on his civil service staffers does not show signs of a visionary and strong leader, some insiders said.
On the other hand, Hui Ying is seen as a pale imitation of her father and brother, whose leadership skills are miles ahead of others in the party, the insiders added.
DAP may also take a page out of the Gerakan playbook when in 1995, Gerakan separated the chief minister post from the state party chairman position.
The then chief minister was Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon while the state party chairman was the late Datuk Tan Ghim Hwa; both were not on the best of terms but by keeping on each other’s toes, they defeated external rivals such as DAP for three consecutive elections. – September 7, 2024.
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