Fight to weaken stronghold
THE status quo will probably be retained in the 14th General Election.
DAP is still going strong and a hat-trick win is very likely.
However, Barisan Nasional is making the effort to win more seats and if they can deny Pakatan Harapan a two-thirds majority, it would be a victory of sorts for the coalition.
Pakatan Harapan holds 30 of the 40 state seats and 10 of the 13 parliamentary seats.
Of these, DAP holds 19, PKR has 10, PAS has one and Barisan representatives from Umno have the remainder. The lone PAS representative, Datuk Mohd Salleh Man, is supporting Pakatan.
In the 13 parliamentary constituencies, DAP holds seven seats, while PKR and Barisan Nasional have three seats each.
The future of Gerakan will depend on how the candidates fare in the 13 state seats and four parliamentary seats they are contesting, the same number of seats contested in the previous two general elections.
Gerakan president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong met the party’s state and parliamentary coordinators on Thursday at the state party headquarters in Macalister Road to finalise preparations.
He expressed confidence that the party would do better than the last two elections, where they lost in all the seats.
“We will fight hard in every seat. The potential candidates have worked very hard to serve the people.
“They have been vocal in raising issues such as the tunnel, the hillslope tragedy in Tanjung Bungah and the illegal factory in Sungai Lembu in Penanti,” he said.
Mah, who expects the party to do better this time, is not ready to announce their chief minister’s candidate yet, saying the focus is on winning the elections first.
State Gerakan chairman Teng Chang Yeow, who is also Penang Barisan chairman, did not want to be drawn into a discussion on whether the party would pull out of Barisan if it is wiped out again, saying he is not in a position to comment as he is only in charge of Penang.
DAP, which is basking in the anger of some voters over 1Malaysia Development Berhad and the Goods and Services Tax, is also worried that its winning margins could be slashed.
It has introduced lots of freebies such as free bus rides, free hair cuts and money for senior citizens, single mothers, pupils and even newborn babies.
If there is a big drop in its victory margins, it would mean that people are unhappy with DAP over a host of issues.
If Barisan can make inroads and win a few more seats, that means DAP and Pakatan Harapan would be on shaky ground in GE15.
Compared to GE12 and GE13, DAP is heading into battle at a time when some people are regretting that they voted for the party for a second term in office.
Many are put off by the arrogance of Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy and Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer, who has ticked off non-governmental organisations for raising environmental and flood issues.
Some DAP assemblymen have not been active for three years and only “woke up” about two years ago.
In one constituency, a DAP representative assured the people that he would look into their request for the children’s playground to be upgraded some three years ago. But despite repeated reminders, nothing has moved on the ground till now.
The chatter in markets and elsewhere is that some DAP representatives are only good at making promises that they don’t intend to fulfil.
DAP is expected to retain the majority of its state seats except for Tanjung Bungah, Pulau Tikus and Berapit, where the incumbents have said they will not be re-contesting.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has indicated that it may contest a seat in Penang for the first time in decades.
Its candidate for the Sungai Pinang state seat is likely Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu from DAP, who has said that he would quit the party when Parliament is dissolved.
PSM may also field a candidate in Jelutong.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Amanah will be contesting a few seats for the first time in Penang in seats formerly contested by PKR and PAS.
Mah has said that GE14 would be a do or die battle for Gerakan. The fates of Gerakan and Teng lie in the hands of the voters. Many seem to have made up their minds about which party they would vote for.
If DAP loses some seats or if Pakatan loses its two-thirds majority, pressure would begin to pile on Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
If Umno wins more seats but Gerakan and MCA are wiped out, then Penang may see a new political equation with Umno staking a claim for the chief minister’s post in GE15.
Gerakan would be relegated to history, at least in Penang.
Pakatan Harapan holds 30 of the 40 state seats and 10 of the 13 parliamentary seats. In the 13 parliamentary constituencies, DAP holds seven seats, while PKR and Barisan Nasional have three seats each.