PH-BN could benefit each other in state polls, says Chow

GEORGETOWN - Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) could benefit each other in the upcoming state election.

Penang PH chairman Chow Kon Yeow said this may strengthen the Unity government under PH and BN.

"Since the Unity government is receiving increasing support, the next two months are crucial to convey the message that the future lies with PH and the Unity government," he said in a press conference after officiating the Penang Ancom Crop Care Scholarship Programme here today.

When asked if the coalition between Umno and DAP under the Unity government would cause the party to lose Malay support, Chow answered that Umno had already lost Malay support even before the BN-PH coalition.

"If you look at it, Umno, which is the dominant party in BN, could only retain 26 seats in the 15th General Election (GE15). It shows how they had already lost Malay support before working with DAP in the Unity government.

"Umno is still struggling to regain its base support, and the party continues to lose Malay support to Perikatan Nasional (PN) and PH, but that's just an assumption," he said.

The Penang chief minister added that what's important right now is that PH has only about 100 days to gain support for the state election.

"If we include the campaigning period until voting day, there are about 100 days left, so this period is important for all parties within the Unity government to prepare their respective election machinery for the state election," he said.

Chow also hoped that the seat negotiations could be completed soon and that the selection of candidates could be done soonest.

"All the machinery is ready now and waiting to be dispersed. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and PH will get the people's support.

"In Penang, the focus will be on the state administration's performance and how it has fulfilled the promises made in the 2018 general election manifesto," he said.

He said that previously, when it was decided that the state elections would be held separately, each state was concerned about facing the election machinery from the opposition as a whole.

"The situation is different now because we will get the federal government and alliances' full support. With Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the Prime Minister leading the Unity government, we are confident that we will get the voters' support in the next state election.

"A survey on the public's opinion shows that more than two-thirds of respondents are happy with the direction of the Unity government and that it is on the right track.

"This is the result of our strong campaign, apart from Anwar, who is leading the government. We are confident that PH's performance at the federal and state levels will attract support in the upcoming state election," he said.

When asked about the PH and BN coalition in Penang, he said PH will hold a meeting to discuss the matter after the Hari Raya holidays.

"We will discuss after Hari Raya," he said.