GERAKAN is vying for the seats that MIC and MCA previously contested in Penang, deputy president and Penang state chairman Oh Tong Keong said.

Oh said now that the party was no longer part of the Barisan Nasional coalition, it was not tied to seat negotiations and was free to pick more seats.

“We have continued to serve in the seats that we won in previous elections, so there is a good chance that we will be re-elected there,” Oh said.

Penang has 13 parliamentary seats and 40 state seats.

In the last general election, Umno contested in five parliamentary seats and 15 state seats, MCA in four parliamentary seats and 10 state seats, and MIC only contested in two state seats, while Gerakan contested in four state parliamentary seats and 13 state seats.

Oh said the party was aiming for seats that it could win.

Gerakan Penang had also announced its first batch of ‘spokespersons’ to work in more than 13 state seats, he added.

“These spokespersons are potential candidates. They were selected based on their performance and whether voters could accept them,” Oh said.

“We have the budget to contest in 13 states, maybe more. About 80% of our candidates are newcomers while the rest are seasoned politicians.”

Oh said the party was relying on the younger candidates to attract young voters. This was the only way the party could effect change, he stressed.

“We will continue to contest at the so-called Gerakan traditional seats - Batu Kawan, Tanjung, Bukit Bendera and Jelutong – as well as seats that belong to MIC and MCA.

Youth voting trend hard to predict

While Undi-18 and automatic voter registration had added more than 200,000 young people to the electoral roll in Penang, Oh said it was difficult for parties to attract first-time voters.

“As of December 2011, Penang had 258,805 first-time voters, with the highest number at Bayan Lepas and Machang Bubuk.”

Oh said it was unclear whether young people wanted a clean government or one that paid attention to the people’s welfare.

Taking former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng as an example, Oh said that while Lim was embroiled in a corruption trial involving an undersea tunnel project, he still had supporters.

The other problem is, most young people don’t understand politics and cooperation between single or many parties, Oh said.

Having said that, the duty to educate young voters rests on political parties, he added.

In the 2018 polls, Gerakan stood for election in 13 seats in Penang in the 2018, MCA in 10, and MIC two.  – July 29, 2022.