CONTESTING under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) logo in the 15th general election (GE15) will be disadvantageous to Gerakan, its Penang chairman Oh Teong Kong said.

Post-GE14, Gerakan left the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and joined PN, but many of its supporters are still unaware of this development, he said.

“Until today, many people are still not aware that we left BN,” Oh told The Malaysian Insight.

He said Gerakan, which has had a presence in Penang for 54 years, is well known among the people, but they may not know PN, a relatively new coalition.

Additionally, PN’s colours are also too similar to BN’s, he said.

“Our plan is to propose to the PN leadership that we want to use our own logo to improve our chances of winning.”

Oh said now that young voters have been automatically added to the electoral roll, it is unclear whether they actually care about politics and what Gerakan stands for.

“After 2018, we found that Chinese voters began to care more about politics because they saw the country change.

“Before that, out of 10 Malaysians, only two or three Chinese voters cared, while about seven to eight Malays did.”

Oh said that the public also seemed to be confused about the difference between the chief minister and governor posts, adding that some have the impression that DAP national chairman Lim Guan Eng is Penang governor.

Earlier this month, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said the coalition will be introducing a new logo for GE15.

Oh said the new logo will be revealed by the end of August.

DAP pushing a populist agenda

Oh said in the 14 years that DAP has ruled Penang, the party has done nothing but put forward a populist agenda, inciting hatred and seeking out the approval of Malay voters.

He also accused the DAP state government of selling parcels of land.

Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow revealed that the state government, Penang Development Corporation and Penang Island City Council had sold about 445ha of land worth RM12.5 billion since 2011.

While Lim sold land for the purpose of economic development, Chow did so to review the state’s economy, Oh said.

He also conceded that opposition parties have a weak voice in the state and was frustrated that voters in Penang keep indulging DAP.

Now, people in Penang are finally waking up to see corruption perpetrated by DAP and Pakatan Harapan, he said.

But voters shunned Gerakan in 2018 because they wanted to see a change in government by voting out BN, he added.

“In the 39 years that Gerakan led Penang, none of its leaders have ever been called up by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission,” Oh said.

“We are proud of this. Former chief ministers Lim Chong Eu and Koh Tsu Koon helped create jobs.

“They also set up industries and built the first and second bridges in Penang.” – July 29, 2022.