DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng has criticised the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership in Penang for allegedly failing to respond firmly to what he described as baseless attacks by Penang UMNO against DAP and PKR.
He said the accusations that both parties practised identity politics by focusing only on one particular race should not have been left unanswered by the state PH leadership. Guan Eng also questioned Penang PH chairman Chow Kon Yeow’s claim that there was no objection to the coalition’s decision to work with and accept UMNO’s role in the state government.
Guan Eng said the absence of discussion on the matter during a DAP Penang delegates’ meeting on Wednesday did not mean representatives supported the decision. He explained that the meeting had a specific agenda, namely discussing whether DAP should remain in or withdraw from the Federal Government.
According to him, only DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke among the Central Executive Committee (CEC) leaders present addressed the delegates, explaining the current political situation and responding to questions about the advantages and disadvantages of remaining in the Federal Government.
Guan Eng also said neither Chow nor other national CEC leaders spoke to the delegates during the closed-door meeting. He argued that details of such internal party discussions should not be publicly interpreted as an indication of delegates’ support for other political decisions.
He acknowledged that Chow had the right to maintain his position on working with UMNO, despite claiming that UMNO had played a major role in Anthony Loke’s defeat in the Chennah state seat during the Negeri Sembilan state election.
However, Guan Eng said Chow should not assume that Penang DAP delegates endorsed the state leadership’s decision simply because no one raised the matter during Wednesday’s meeting.
He proposed that Chow convene another internal meeting involving Penang DAP delegates specifically to gauge their views on PH Penang’s unconditional support for UMNO’s role in the state administration.
Guan Eng said such a meeting would allow the party to determine the actual position of its grassroots representatives and discuss how the state leadership could reassure voters that it remained firm in defending the dignity and mandate of the Penang government.
Meanwhile, Chow had earlier maintained that Penang PH would continue its cooperation with Barisan Nasional (BN) and UMNO in running the state government. The decision was announced after he chaired a state PH meeting on Saturday.
The agreement includes retaining BN executive councillor Datuk Rashidi Zinol, who holds the Rural Development, Agrotechnology, Food Security and Entrepreneurship portfolio. The arrangement is in line with the cooperation or electoral pact established during the 2023 state election.
