PENANG Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has withdrawn from the state DAP election race, prompting speculation about his successor.
Several names are now mentioned as the potential successor but reports of division among party leaders in the state are now rife.
Chow, who led the DAP in Penang for 25 years, is credited with revitalising the party and securing power in the state.
Potential successors include Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying and state executive councillor Wong Hon Wai.
Lim is seen as a strong contender due to her family’s legacy. Her father is no other than the party veteran Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang. Other names in consideration are Gobind Singh Deo and Zairil Khir Johari.
However, DAP faces internal divisions between factions loyal to Chow and Lim Guan Eng with the party needing to find new leadership to maintain its grip on Penang.
The question is, who can now replace him with the menace of the ‘green wave’ in Penang?
Chow is credited for the historic 2008 election when DAP stormed into power in Penang.
University of Tasmania political scientist James Chin revealed that Chow and Guan Eng had significant disagreements over Penang’s governance. He observed that the Penang DAP elections are witnessing the emergence of two factions: one supporting Chow and the other backing 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,” Chin is quoted as saying by a local news portal.
Moreover, Chin also said DAP is currently led by Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, who skilfully negotiated an agreement with Chow to step down as state party chairman while continuing as chief minister until the end of his second term.
He emphasised that Penang is the party’s “jewel in the crown,” making the search for new leadership essential for DAP to retain control of the state. – Sept 7, 2024
Main photo credit: Bernama
