KUALA LUMPUR – DAP decided to field its party chairman Lim Guan Eng in the Penang election as he had been effective as the state’s chief minister previously, Anthony Loke said today.
The party secretary-general said voters would appreciate Lim’s contributions, Free Malaysia Today reported him as saying after an event here today.
Loke was asked if Lim’s candidacy in the state polls would affect DAP’s electoral performance, amid unhappiness by certain quarters in the party towards him.
Lim, the Air Puteh incumbent for three terms, will defend the seat again for the fourth time. The former finance minister, 63, is also Bagan MP.
Lim, who was also former DAP secretary-general, was Penang chief minister from 2008 to 2018.
Loke said Lim as chief minister had made a lot of changes and that voters would appreciate what he had done.
Lim has been touted as the source of unhappiness for two DAP leaders who have quit the party in the last two days after Penang DAP’s candidates list was unveiled.
Former Seberang Prai councillor David Marshel, who quit yesterday and announced his independent bid for the Perai seat, said he loved DAP, but not its leaders like Lim.
Bagan Dalam incumbent M. Satees who quit today and announced plans to defend the seat as an independent said his move was not because DAP did not field him, but because he wanted to fight “the emperor”.
Both Marshel and Satees said they would back caretaker Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow for the post again if they won their seats. Chow is defending the Padang Kota seat.
The Penang DAP candidates list saw five long-serving incumbents and state executive councillors dropped, with the party leadership’s reason being the need for renewal and relevance by fielding fresh faces.
Those dropped were caretaker deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy, Wanita DAP chief Chong Eng, former five-term Sg Puyu assemblyman Phee Boon Poh, Soon Lip Chee, and Yeoh Soon Hin. – The Vibes, July 28, 2023
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