SABAH-based party Warisan is targeting six parliamentary and 10 state seats in its first foray into Pakatan Harapan (PH)-ruled Penang in the coming general election, said the party’s state chief Jeff Ooi. 

The former Bukit Jelutong lawmaker said the party is optimistic about winning some seats as he believes the three-party coalition is going through turmoil, particularly PKR, in the run-up to the polls.

The Penang PH government looks deceptively calm on the outside, he said, when actually the coalition is roiling with possible tension among its leaders. 

He said DAP, for example, is eyeing the Kebun Bunga state seat currently held by PKR. 

“DAP wants to contest it in the coming GE so that all four seats under the Bukit Bendera parliamentary constituency it holds – Tanjung Bungah, Pulau Tikus, Air Putih and Kebun Bunga – all come under its control,” he said. 

Ooi said based on the assessment he had made, PH would return to power, but with dramatically lesser support. 

He also said his assessment showed that out of 37 state seats won by PH in the 2018 general election, 10 are vulnerable and the majority of them are held by PKR. 

“DAP had sounded confident in winning more seats in the coming general election but I have not seen any significant increase in support for the coalition,” he said. 

The Penang legislature has 40 seats, and the number of seats Penang PH currently holds has been reduced to 33 after Bersatu quit the coalition in the aftermath of the Sheraton Move political manoeuvring that took down the PH federal government. 

DAP, the lead party of the coalition in Penang, has 19 seats, PKR has 12, and Amanah has two. 

“Penang PH’s biggest threat in the elections would be Warisan, and Warisan’s best hope is PKR-held seats,” Ooi said. 

He said the popularity of PKR has been on the decline since the 2018 polls, and the only seat the party can realistically lay claim to having any strength in is Machang Bubok.

Ooi said Umno, the lead party in Barisan Nasional (BN), would not pose much threat to PH, and it seems like it would only go “all out” for the six seats that make up the two parliamentary seats it won in 2018 – Tasek Gelugor and Kepala Batas. 

The three state seats under the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary constituency are Berangan, Sungai Dua and Telok Ayer Tawar.

The three under Kepala Batas are Penaga, Bertam and Pinang Tunggal. 

Penaga is currently a seat held by the Islamist PAS. 

In 2018, Umno fared badly in Penang because of an apparent split in the Malay votes. 

BN, PAS and Amanah were all tripping over one another for Malay votes, he pointed out. 

Ooi said PAS is not seen as a threat to PH as its strength is only confined to Seberang Prai. 

He said PAS will find it difficult to defend its seat this coming elections, but if the Islamist party can strike a deal with Umno, it could help the country’s oldest Malay party with seats in Penang. 

As for DAP, Ooi said the ruling party has three state seats that have been compromised by poor performance from its elected representatives, and that gives Warisan a glimmer of hope.

Warisan, Ooi said, will go after DAP’s “weakest constituencies”. 

The 66-year-old Ooi was named Penang Warisan chairman on August 7, while former PKR Bukit Tengah assemblyman Ong Chin Wen was named state secretary. 

Penang Warisan’s leadership comprises almost entirely of former PH elected representatives and city councillors.

With the Malay-based parties not providing much of an opposition to DAP, the ruling coalition could find Warisan its “biggest enemy”, Ooi said.

“Most of the constituencies in Penang are dominated by ethnic Chinese voters and Umno is not firmly rooted here.”

Ooi said he cannot see Umno leading its coalition partners MCA and MIC in staging a dramatic turnaround in their political fortunes at the polls.

He nonetheless admits voters in Penang are largely unaware of Warisan and what its logo looks like. 

“However, most are aware of who Shafie Apdal is,” he said of the Warisan president. 

Shafie was federal rural and regional development minister from 2009 to 2015 and vice-president of Umno until he was sacked.

“He’s Warisan Penang’s poster boy, “ Ooi said.

“In our rounds meeting the people, we found the voters have no idea there is a political party called Warisan, but they all know who Shafie is. So we have made Shafie our rallying point.”

Ooi also disclosed that Warisan candidates will be young candidates – below the age of 50 – and that candidates picked to contest in parliamentary constituencies must have a bachelor’s degree. 

He confirmed several candidates with master’s degrees have been shortlisted, but said no decision had been made about him contesting in the elections.

One thing that Shafie had agreed on is that the chief minister could still be Chinese, Ooi said. 

“Shafie respects the sentiment of the Penang people wanting a Chinese (person) as chief minister.” – August 21, 2022.