DAP has agreed to name an Umno assemblyman to represent Barisan Nasional (BN) as a member of the Penang state executive council in the spirit of the unity government, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said.

Loke said the matter was unanimously agreed in the DAP central executive committee (CEC) last night.

“The CEC agreed that we propose to the chief minister to appoint an exco member from Umno to represent BN.

“As there are two BN candidates who won in Penang, we will appoint a BN representative to sit in the council,” he said in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Also present were party chairman Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, deputy chairman Gobind Singh Deo, national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching and other top party leaders.

Yesterday, Chow, who is also the Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, was sworn in as chief minister for a second term after the PH-BN coalition won 29 out of 40 state seats in the state elections.

Of that number, DAP won all 19 contested seats, PKR (7), BN (2) and Amanah (1). The two seats BN won were Bertam, represented by Reezal Merican Naina Merican and Sungai Acheh, by Rashidi Zinol.

Meanwhile, Loke said the party will also submit the names of candidates representing DAP to the menteri besar and chief minister to be appointed as state councillors in the three states led by the PH-BN coalition, namely Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Penang in the near future.

Regarding the post-mortem after the state polls, Loke said it has yet to be done.

“What is clear is that the seats we won showed good cooperation between PH and BN. This was very clear in Negri Sembilan, where we won 31 out of 36 seats due to the cooperation between the two coalitions.

“It may be new cooperation but it is a formula for success in the general election,” he said.

In the just-concluded state elections, DAP won 46 of the 47 state seats contested in four states – 19 in Penang, Selangor (15), Negri Sembilan (11) and Kedah (1). – Bernama, August 15, 2023.