No stopping Pakatan in Penang
Coalition poised to win but BN may cause a stir
GEORGE TOWN: There is little doubt that Pakatan Harapan will complete a sweep in Penang, winning most of the 40 state and 13 parliamentary seats.
If Gerakan, MCA and MIC manage to win even two or three seats, this would be a victory of sorts, especially if these seats are wrested from DAP.
In the 2008 general election, the then Pakatan Rakyat won 29 state seats and this increased to 30 in the last general election, with Gerakan, MCA and MIC being soundly thrashed.
Penang Barisan chairman Teng Chang Yeow is gunning for the once Gerakan stronghold of Tanjong Bunga, with former chief minister and ex-assemblyman of the area Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon lending a helping hand.
Teng has said that he would bow out of politics if he is defeated this time.
“We received good responses during our campaign but there was some resistance from the younger generation,” he said.
Many residents in Tanjong Bunga are upset over hillslope projects, with Pakatan candidate Zairil Khir Johari getting an earful during a dialogue session there on the first day of campaigning.
Despite the odds heavily stacked against Barisan, Teng felt that the coalition could win more than 10 state seats.
He pointed to Barisan winning 10 state seats through Umno in the last general.
The crowds at mega ceramah organised by DAP have been big and Pakatan leaders have been sharing pictures of them on social media.
Pakatan leaders have successfully fired up voters that they could take over Putrajaya, resulting in issues such as hill-cutting, flooding and the poor performance of incumbents picked again to contest taking a back seat.
It is predicted that DAP might lose in Sungai Pinang where there is a six-cornered fight.
The Bukit Tengah state seat is a grey area for Gerakan. Its candidate Dr Thor Teong Gee could pull off an upset against lawyer Gooi Hsiao-Leung, who is the son of former Penang DAP leader Gooi Hock Seng.
The hot seats to watch are in Permatang Pauh where PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar is being challenged by Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said, who is the Permatang Pauh Umno chief.
Other seats to watch are Jelutong where Barisan’s Datuk Baljit Singh is taking on R.S.N. Rayer of DAP, and Bagan Dalam where J. Dhinagaran of Barisan is up against Satees Muniandy of DAP.
There was a mega ceramah at the Esplanade last night where DAP secretary-general and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng welcomed former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz on stage.
By all accounts, victory for Pakatan is assured but a loss of a few seats for Pakatan would be an ego setback for Lim.