PENANG Barisan Nasional is realistic. It admits that its chances of wresting back the state are slim to none.

All its efforts instead are focused on increasing the number of MCA and Gerakan representation in the state legislative assembly.

But that is not stopping Penang BN chief Teng Chang Yeow from an aggressive approach of highlighting policies, he said, the DAP-run state government has put in place which do not benefit the people.

“We know the reality. We are telling the people that their voices matter and must be heard at the state legislative assembly, so that we can stop policies and projects that don’t benefit the people.

“We want to have a stronger opposition in the assembly. Our aim is to represent the voices of the urbanites in Penang,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

After losing Penang to Pakatan Rakyat in 2008, BN only managed to keep 11 state seats out of 40 through Umno. In the 2013 polls, Umno kept 10 seats while MCA, Gerakan and MIC failed to win any.

Teng was coy about what issues BN would use to attack the Pakatan Harapan government, only saying that BN would be highlighting issues pertinent to the state.

“I can’t say now. It is part of our strategy. We are preparing the list of issues, which will be unveiled soon.

“The manifesto will be different from the last. It will have the ‘aiyoh’ factor, not the ‘wow’ factor. It will make people ask ‘is this the government we voted in?’”

In GE13, BN’s pre-election campaign featured some glitzy events, including a Chinese New Year open house with South Korean star Psy who entertained the public with his famed Oppa Gangnam Style song.

There was also a charity concert in April 2013 with local and international artistes organised by the 1Malaysia Welfare Club. Controversial businessman Jho Low, who is linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, helped book the international acts.

Huge pledges were also made during the campaign. Prime Minister Najib Razak announced plans to build 9,999 new affordable homes in DAP-held Chinese majority seats Air Putih, Air Itam and Paya Terubong. 1MDB was to be the master developer.

He also said if BN wrested back Penang, he would scrap the undersea tunnel and grant the state its free-port status. But Pakatan Rakyat retained Penang with a bigger majority in the 2013 elections.

Looking at issues raised by Penang BN leaders in the past year, it is widely expected that the coalition will bank on several development issues, especially the ongoing undersea tunnel and three highways currently being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Digging up the tunnel

The proposed undersea tunnel and highways project, mooted in 2011, was a huge issue in the run-up to GE13, with BN questioning the need for the mega-project awarded to Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (now Consortium Zenith Constructions Sdn Bhd) through an open tender.

MACC looked into the project in 2016, following complaints lodged by detractors of the PH administration. The project is under scrutiny again with raids made and key people involved arrested and remanded.

Questions are being raised about the contract, the costs of the many technical studies for the project, the RM208 million land swap with Consortium Zenith and the change in shareholders in the consortium since 2013.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng called the investigation a “public lynching” in the run-up to the 14^th general election, and accused BN of sabotaging the project.

The proposed massive three-island reclamation off the southern coast of the island is meant to fund the RM27-billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

BN, fishermen and environmental groups have objected to the reclamation plan over concerns that it will destroy the marine ecosystem and fish breeding grounds, killing off the livelihood of fishermen.

There are some 1,500 fishermen in the Balik Pulau parliamentary constituency, where the proposed reclamation will take place.

BN won the Balik Pulau federal seat by a slim majority of 1,549 votes in 2013. All three state seats in Balik Pulau – Teluk Kumbar, Bayan Lepas and Teluk Bahang – are in BN hands where Umno won by between 400 and 800 votes.

Housing promise

The lack of affordable housing is another old issue to be played up again in Penang, where real estate is expensive. Every now and then, BN and PH would trade barbs over which administration built more affordable homes in the state.

State Umno chief Zainal Abidin Osman said in December that the federal government embarked on 34 affordable home projects with almost 6,000 units from 2008 to 2016.

Another 19 are ongoing projects and 39 more in the pipeline and by year-end, the federal government would have built 56,569 units in total, he said.

Penang housing exco Jagdeep Singh told The Malaysian Insight that from 2008 to 2017, the present PH government built 22,000 affordable homes.

Sale of state land

Both sides have also been arguing over which administration sold more land.

In December, Penang BN accused the PH government of selling 2,178.72ha of state land since 2008, compared with the 1,074ha sold during BN’s 40 years in government. 

Over the years, Lim has been accusing BN of selling 36 times more land but received less money than the present government. 

He said in a January 2017 statement that the previous government conducted land sales on a much larger scale, selling 1,481.55ha compared with only 42.93ha sold through open tenders under the present government.

However, Lim said his administration received RM1.1102 billion from the land sales compared with BN’s RM1.0586 billion.

BN is also expected to bring up the RM156 million lease of a piece of prime land on Lebuhraya Peel through Chief Minister Incorporated to Island Hospital last year for its RM2 billion Island Medical City project.

Penang Gerakan alleged it was done without open tender and that it was a one-man decision.

Lim said the decision to lease the land was by the state exco. He said the project would position Penang as medical city and generate an economic value of RM7 billion.

Floods, landslides

The frequent flash floods and landslides last year will also likely be a hot topic these elections.

The unprecedent rains in September and November inundated the state and a landslide that killed 11 at a condo construction site in Tanjung Bungah last October have raised concerns of overdevelopment and revived calls to halt all developments on hill slopes.

Penang BN has also highlighted illegal hill-clearing activities. Its Teluk Bahang assemblyman Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah said hill cutting is rampant in rural areas of his constituency.

BN may also bank in on issues raised by civil society groups and residents associations like their objections against high-density and high-rise projects, namely those on hill slopes.

Tussle over No. 50 Love Lane

In 2013, the state seized a pre-war property at Love Lane, which previously belonged to the Eng Siew Kee Kongsi and managed by a five-member board of trustees since 1909 over non-payment of quit rent.

It was said there was an earlier understanding between the state and Penang Chinese Clan Council (PCCC) that the former would transfer the property, which was believed to be connected to the historic Ghee Hin Chinese society, to the latter at a RM1 nominal fee.

PCCC chairman Anthony Chang said the last trustee had urged the council to take over and restore the heritage building in 2010 before he died.

But last year, the authorities told PCCC to prove it had a direct connection to the property, and the whole arrangement hit a snag when PCCC could not furnish proof.

The bad blood over the property tussle is said to have spilled over onto the annual Chinese New Year cultural celebrations in George Town. The organisers, PCCC, cancelled the event, citing lack of cooperation and support from the state government before finally changing its decision last week.

The spat over the property and festive event, widely reported in Chinese newspapers, may help BN regain some Chinese votes, namely those in George Town. 

George Town ‘sellout’  

The gentrification of the Unesco World Heritage Site in George Town, an issue highlighted by conservationists, will also likely be another hot-button issue.

The city has lost many old tenants, businesses and residents in recent years after pre-war shophouses were sold to investors and property firms, or taken back by their owners to be renovated and converted into tourism-centric businesses like hotels, restaurants, cafes, galleries and museums.

“Heritage is not a problem, but the selling out of George Town is,” said Teng, who was the last state tourism exco in the former BN administration.

He was also involved in the efforts to get George Town listed with Unesco. The city made the inscription in July 2008, four months after the government change.

“George Town is colonised by Singaporeans,” he said, referring to a Singapore-linked property firm buying up rows of pre-war shophouses in the city.

“Where is the character of George Town? Every building had a story, but today there is no story.” – January 31, 2018.