DAP members urged to back party candidates in Penang

DAP yesterday urged party members to give their full support to all of its candidates contesting the Penang election. 

State party chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who is Penang chief minister, also urged them to focus on the campaign work ahead to ensure that government parties continue to rule the state. 

"The party has announced our candidates and I personally want to express my gratitude for my nomination, to lead the machinery as well as the state again should I win," he told reporters after an event in Nibong Tebal.

DAP had announced 19 candidates, including seven new faces, with Depuy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy among the notable names dropped.  

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, who made the announcement, said Chow and DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng would defend their seats in Padang Kota and Air Putih respectively. 

Chow said there were bound to be changes in terms of candidacy, and that this was normal and dynamic in every election.

He said there was no such thing as candidates belonging to certain camps in DAP as claimed by some quarters, as all candidates were picked by the party leadership. 

"Every election we see changes. Maybe in five years' time, my name won’t be on the list as well – the old will give way to the young or new," he said.

Meanwhile, Bagan Dalam incumbent assemblyman Satees Muniandy denied that he would be cooperating with Perikatan Nasional (PN) following DAP’s decision to drop him from the polls.

Speaking to reporters in Butterworth, Satees said although he had yet to decide on his next political move, working with PN was out of the question.