GEORGE TOWN, Aug 9 — Penang DAP state chairman Chow Kon Yeow announced that this will be the last election he is contesting as a candidate while appealing for voters to support him.

The caretaker Penang chief minister told the audience during a ceramah kelompok at Lip Sin Garden that this will be his last term as a chief minister, an assemblyman and a MP.

“This will be the last election for me as a candidate, the last time for me to contest in an election,” he said but added that he might still participate in ceramah as a speaker in the future if invited.

He said if he is re-elected this time, in five years’ time, in 2028, he would have been in politics for more than 42 years.

“I spent more than 40 years of my life in politics. How many more 40 years do we have? At most, we have two 40 years in total,” he said.

He said he had used up 40 years of his life to serve Penang, so after 2028, he will step down from electoral politics.

Chow first became a state assemblyman in Penang in 1990 when he won the Pengkalan Kota state seat.

After that, in 1999, he became the Tanjong MP and held the post until 2013.

He then contested and won the Padang Kota state seat in 2008 and has held the seat until today.

He is defending his Padang Kota seat in this state election while he won the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat in the 15th general election.

Chow appealed to voters to turn up and vote on August 12 to bring the turnout to above 75 per cent.

He said voter turnout has dropped in recent times and Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidates still needed a higher turnout in order to retain their seats and the state government.

“After much controversy about the chief minister’s post, the leadership has announced that I will be chief minister for the second term, so your vote does not only select the state government and your assemblyman, but it is also to support me as your chief minister,” he said.

He said he will work hard for the next five years to put more plans in motion under the Penang2030 Vision.

Chow, who turns 65 this year, will be 70 by the time he completes his second term as chief minister if the PH-Barisan Nasional unity coalition wins Penang in this state election.

Later, when asked if this meant he will retire completely from politics, Chow said he will only retire from electoral politics.

“Others I don’t know yet,” he said.