A PERIKATAN Nasional (PN) leader said the odds are stacked against the coalition to take over Penang despite coalition chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s goal of winning at least 20 state seats in the island state in the forthcoming state polls.
According to a FMT report, the leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the overwhelming majority of Penang’s Chinese population firmly supports Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“If it is the Chinese community that determines who governs (the state), it will be challenging for PN to capture Penang,” the source told the news portal.
The source went on to say that there was also no guarantee that PN will win the predominantly-Malay populated seats in the state, adding that the coalition had its work cut out to garner support.
He added that the 14-day campaign period for the polls left little time for PN to persuade voters who were not aligned to the coalition.
“Many people remain unaware of our cause. How many places in Penang can we go to in just 14 days?” he said.
Analysts believe that the PN will win 12 seats in Penang, falling nine seats short of a simple majority to form a state government in the 40-seat state legislative assembly.
During the previous state elections back in 2018, PH won a whopping 37 state seats compared to Barisan Nasional (BN) who won two seats and Gagasan Sejahtera (one seat).
Meanwhile, Penang PN Youth chief Zuzalee Ariffin said the coalition, which he claimed has the backing of 1% of Chinese voters and 4% of Indian voters in the state, required only a minor shift in support from them to win the election.
He said that based on PN’s research, 93% of the Chinese community currently support PH and 5% support Barisan Nasional. PH enjoyed the support of 84% of Indian voters while 12% supported BN.
Regarding Malay votes, Zuzalee claimed that PN dominated with 55% support, followed by BN (28%) and PH (15%).
On June 13, Penang caretaker chief minister Chow Kon Yeow confirmed that the Penang PH and BN leaderships have settled their seat negotiations for the state polls next month.
PH has been ruling Penang for 15 years after the coalition defeated BN in the 2008 state elections, winning 29 seats to BN’s 11. – July 12, 2023
Main pic credit: CNA
