The Malaysian Insight

PAKATAN Harapan (PH) will have to face the anger of Penang voters when the state election is held after the general election (GE), said grassroots leaders. 

They said this wrath would stem from, among others, the difficulty faced by Penang-native voters to go home to vote in the state elections.

Parties will also need to handle rejection from the Malay voters over the reclamation project in the south of the island when that issue is brought up during state election campaigns.

A grassroots leader told The Malaysian Insight those are the reasons they oppose efforts to hold separate elections. 

“In Selangor and Negri Sembilan, they already decided not to have an election simultaneously with GE15, but in Penang some leaders disagreed,” said the PKR leader who did not want to be named.

“However, in the end we agreed because we could not show the people we were divided over this issue.”

The PKR leader said the issue of the state polls was discussed three times at the PH presidential council meeting.

On October 15, the council decided to postpone the dissolution of the state assembly until next year, after the monsoon season. 

No authority to distribute disaster funds 

He said the main concern of PH leaders are floods, because if they occur after the state assembly had been dissolved, lawmakers would not have the authority to deal with the disaster. They would not have been able to deploy aid agencies or approve funds.

He gave an example of the situation that occurred during the 2017 Penang floods.

“The affected areas were Balik Pulau, Jalan P. Ramlee, and Lorong Sungai Dua, and the state government at that time gave RM700 to the victims,” he said.

“If PH dissolved the state assembly then, the state would have lost its authority since they were no longer the ruling government.”

The decision not to dissolve the state assembly with parliament is also to guarantee agreement between component parties and the safety of the population, sources said.

As of September 15 this year, Penang voters numbered more than 1,200,000, with about 38% of them Malay voters. 

Political observers predicted that the support of Malay voters during the last GE would be lost due to, among others, the implementation of the Penang South Dam Project. 

The project provoked the anger of the state’s Malay population, especially the fishermen. 

This group of voters warned the PH government that it will lose if it does not stop the sea reclamation works. 

The threat also came from the Tanjung Tokong fishermen who want to defend their livelihood and villages from the threat of development. 

The source did not rule out the possibility that this issue would shake the support of Malay voters towards the PH government, but expects the backlash to not be too damaging.

“The PH government has made sufficient preparations for those like us by mobilising various aid and funds, including providing education funds, housing, and boats.

“The state government believes the dam project can bring about changes in social mobility not only for fishermen but for the people of Penang as a whole.”

Asked about the challenges for the machinery to carry out the work, the source said the separate state polls do not affect the implementation of grassroots’ actions. 

Another grassroots leader said state leaders are worried about being blamed by voters dwelling outside Penang, who have to return home to vote in the November 19 GE. 

They are also worried that Umno and PAS will work together to form a government after the GE, and the state could be the target of the two parties’ attacks. 

“If this happens, it will actually shake PH in Penang because the two parties will be able to focus on attacking PH,” said a source from Balik Pulau PKR.

Sources from Penang Amanah Youth said they were among those who rejected the decision to postpone the state elections, but later accepted it.

One of its leaders, Mohamad Hamdi Mohd Noor, understood that the proposal was raised because there were sentiments from voters, especially students, who found it difficult to return home to vote.

“We are worried it will cause the voter turnout to drop because of the separate elections,” said the Permatang Pauh Amanah Youth leader.

However, he hopes the state elections will not be held immediately after the GE. 

“We hope it will be after May, or even beyond that, to give some space for those who work outside Penang,” he added. – November 4, 2022.