Penang DAP election a crowded affair
The Penang DAP will see stiff competition among four factions in its party’s state level election coming Sunday.
Hawkeye, FMT
Four factions have emerged to battle this Sunday in the Penang state level DAP elections, where 49 candidates were nominated to vie for 15 slots in its committee line-up.
Party insiders, who preferred not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the issue, said the four factions are those allied to secretary-general and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, party veterans, personalities who were dropped or sidelined in the last general election and the party’s upstarts.
Those likely to gain attention are the upstarts led by Jagdeep Singh Deo, the eldest son of party chairman Karpal Singh; the outspoken Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi; environmentalist Teh Yee Cheu, the Tanjung Bungah assemblyman as well as Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N Rayer and Ong Ah Teong – a hard working Penang municipal councillor.
Not to be discounted are the veterans led by the present state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow, DAP Wanita head Chong Eng, Phee Boon Poh, his brother Phee Boon Chee, Lim Hock Seng, Danny Law Heng Kiang and A Tanasekharan.
Guan Eng’s faction is said to be led by his political secretaries Ng Wei Aik and Zairil Khir Johari and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim.
Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P Ramasamy is also touted as one of the state-level leaders who has a strong chance of faring well due to his work with the Indian community and his position in the government.
While the faction which is said to be fighting for their ‘political survival’ are those sidelined, namely former Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai and former Sungai Pinang assemblyman Koid Teng Guan.
Insiders said this election mainly concerns the fate of Ng, Zairil, Jagdeep, Ooi, Koay and the veterans, with rumours persisting that two of them – Chow and Hock Seng – are considering making way for younger talent in the next few years.
The insiders claimed that some quarters in DAP see Ng, Zairil and Sim as ‘young men in a hurry’, who may not realise that in their quest to reach their political goals, they are stepping on the toes of many ‘warlords’ in the state.
