Kon Yeow: Unity coalition to decide Penang exco line-up after chief minister sworn in

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 12 — The new state exco line-up for Penang will be decided after discussions between the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) unity coalition, said caretaker chief minister Chow Kon Yeow.

Chow said the exco line-up can only be formed after the chief minister is sworn in.

“After that, we will discuss in PH and the unity coalition to decide on the exco line-up,” he told reporters in a press conference after announcing that PH-BN has won Penang with 29 seats.

When asked if the results are expected, Chow said he had targeted 30 seats after taking into account the political changes in the country.

He said he did not expect to retain the 37 seats PH won back in 2018.

“I feel that we have achieved the target I set especially with the political changes, what’s important is that we win more than two thirds,” he said.

He said he had been realistic with the target as he knew the changes are real and that it was encroaching into the support for the unity coalition.

“We recognise that this has to be addressed by the unity coalition to reach out and find out why people are unhappy,” he said.

He said it (political changes) is a national issue that has become a state issue.

“We won’t rest on our laurels, we will analyse the results and take necessary action to address any weaknesses,” he said.

Meanwhile, Penang PKR deputy chairman Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik said they lost seats that are in Malay majority and some mixed areas seats.

“This is a lesson to us even though we have prepared for this since GE15,” he said.

He said Perikatan Nasional had played with sentiments, and they were unable to stop it from changing the perception of the voters in the Malay majority areas.

PKR also lost all three of the state seats under its former stronghold of Permatang Pauh; namely Seberang Jaya, Permatang Pasir and Penanti.

Muhammad Bakhtiar said they had worked hard in Permatang Pauh trying to top the green wave.

“Now that we’ve lost all three seats, we have to look at the majority, if it’s not high, there’s a chance for us to try to win back those seats,” he said.