Chow begins second term as Penang Chief Minister

GEORGETOWN - Chow Kon Yeow officially began his second term as Penang Chief Minister today, a day after he was sworn in.

He arrived at his office on the 28th floor of Komtar at 9.11am, and was greeted by staff and well-wishers.

In a Facebook post, Kon Yeow said that he was committed to driving Penang to greater heights in his new term.

"Good morning, Penang. It's a new term, a renewed commitment to driving the state forward," he said.

Chow, who is also the Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) Chairman, took the oath of office as the fifth Chief Minister for the second term at the residence of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Seri Mutiara on Sunday.

PH retained power in Penang with its allies, Barisan Nasional (BN), after they won 29 of the 40 seats contested.

With a two-thirds majority, the coalition will form a new state government.

Chow said that the new state government exco would be decided following discussions between the PH-BN coalition.

His new Exco team is likely to include many fresh faces, given that the state election eliminated the majority of the previous exco members.

It is expected that this time, BN representatives will also serve on the state government exco.

Previously, DAP has dropped five of their excos: P Ramasamy, Chong Eng, Phee Boon Poh, Yeoh Soon Hin, and Soon Lip Chee.

Meanwhile, PKR dropped Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain and Dr Norlela Ariffin.

Ahmad Zakiyuddin is the former Deputy Chief Minister I while Ramasamy is the former Deputy Chief Minister II.