With general election drawing nearer, politicians are often called upon to give comments to the media. This time, speculation for the date of the coming election started very early. Until now I still believe that election would not be held this year but next’s. There have been many write-ups on Penang as the state is going to see many changes. Some reporters from the Chinese newspapers are always looking for juicy items like candidate line-up. Well, just have to take this as occupational hazard and be helpful.Read the following report from Malaysiakini.

Penang: Will the opposition make an impact?
Wong Teck Chi and Ngu Ik Ying
Jun 13, 07 2:35pm Malaysiakini

With the next general election around the corner, there are signs that there could be a swing of votes for the opposition in Penang.

The opposition, namely DAP, is aware of this and are making the Gerakan-ruled Penang as one of its frontline states. There have also been calls for its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to contest there.

DAP is hoping to take at least 14 of the 40 state seats.

However, not all are convinced by this. Some feel that Barisan Nasional (BN) will continue to maintain a strong hold on the state.

Penang-born political analyst Tan Lee Ooi said the opposition has failed to raise any significant issues and does not have a solid strategy for the coming polls.

“If compared to previous elections in the 90s, the opposition had a more clearer focus and campaigned for a substitute government,” he told malaysiakini.

Licence issue

Ong Boon Keong, coordinator of SOS, a Penang-based NGO, said the opposition would only manage to woo some votes because the locals are frustrated with the state government over certain issues and not because they support the opposition.

“The Merdeka Centre (a research centre) has reported that the opposition will get 60 percent of Chinese votes (nationwide).

“The swing of Chinese voters away from the ruling coalition in the Machap and Ijok by-elections indicates that there would probably be a 15 percent swing among the Chinese voters (in the next polls),” he said.

Ong also noted that most of the Chinese in Penang are hawkers and are dependent on the licence issued by the local council.

“So when this (issue) was used by BN (during the elections), the people were afraid to vote for the opposition,” he said.

“When DAP won 14 seats in the 1990 election, they failed to bring development to the state and people lost faith in them,” he added.

Public transport woes

Environmentalist Mohd Nizam Mahshar said PKR is weak in Penang but DAP stood a better chance in making an impact.

According to him, the locals are losing confidence in the state government, especially over its inability to resolve the public transportation woes. He believes that the opposition can capitalise on this.

In the 1995 election, DAP only managed to grab one state seat while in the 1999 elections, opposition parties secured three state seats - DAP 1, PKR 1 and PAS 1. In the 2004 polls, DAP and PAS won a seat each.

Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow and local MP Chong Eng (photo) attributed the dismal performance to BN’s practice of offering development goodies prior to the polls.

“The people were in a dilemma as to whether to choose the opposition or development for their state.

“In reality, they need local representatives to secure funds for development and it’s harder for the opposition to get the funds so that’s why they choose the other party,” said Chong Eng.

Strong influence

Chow also admitted that MCA representatives did a better job than DAP in catering to the needs of the people regarding some local issues.

Penang deputy chief Cheah Kah Peng also said that BN secures votes by promising goodies.

“MCA and Gerakan have been actively involved in local associations and through their influence in the state agencies, they manage to secure funds for the associations and in return get their support,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gerakan Penang state executive councillor Dr Toh Kin Woon referred to a research done by University Sains Malaysia (USM) and described the current election trend in the country as the ‘politics of developism’.

He also conceded that the ruling parties have influence over local associations such as Chinese temple committees, rural development committees, residents association and schools.

Tomorrow: The importance of the Malay votes