GEORGE TOWN – Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) will only decide if any of its allies are entitled to positions in state-linked companies (SLCs) after the state election is completed.
It is premature to dwell on the matter and it is more important that the PH-Barisan Nasional coalition wins the polls first, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who also chairs Penang PH.
Penang has several SLCs formed since 2008, with notable ones being Penang Hill Corp, Penang Global Tourism, and Penang Water Corp Holdings Bhd.
Chow told a press conference today that seat negotiations between PH and ally BN continue despite the looming state election, which must be held no later than August this year as the Penang assembly’s term expires next month.
“We continue to discuss and negotiate. Both sides have their own expectations and understanding over the matter, but we continue to talk and negotiate.”
Chow declined to comment on a report that BN component MCA had demanded up to 10 seats in the six states that are to face elections soon. The other states are Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan.
In Penang, PH currently holds 35 out of the 40 assembly seats and the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) through PAS has one. Four seats that were under PN are currently vacant after the incumbents were sacked for defying the state’s anti-party hopping law.
There is talk of the possibility that BN’s components MCA and MIC would not have seats to contest in Penang due to their dismal performance in the last three elections here, where they recorded zero wins.
But the two parties, who are among the oldest political organisations in the country, may be offered positions in SLCs if the national unity coalition of PH and BN fares well here. – The Vibes, May 25, 2023
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