JAGDEEP Singh Deo of DAP has been named Penang deputy chief minister II while PKR’s Batu Maung assemblyman Mohamad Abdul Hamid is deputy chief minister I, Free Malaysia Today reported.

Jagdeep, who is the Datok Keramat assemblyman, succeeds P. Ramasamy who held the post after the 12th general election in 2008. Ramasamy was dropped as a candidate in the recent state polls.

It was reported that Jagdeep will oversee the portfolio of human capital development, science and technology, while Mohamad will be responsible for Islamic development, education and national unity.

Umno’s Bertam assemblyman Reezal Merican Naina Merican, who was rumoured to be named deputy chief minister, is not part of the 10-man exco line-up.

Barisan Nasional’s Sungai Acheh assemblyman, Rashidi Zinol, is the coalition’s sole representative in the exco, and will head the trade and entrepreneurial development and rural development committee.

The exco line-up comprises seven DAP representatives, two from PKR, and one from Umno. Among them, eight are new faces.

This comes after Chow Kon Yeow, the Padang Kota assemblyman, was sworn in as the Penang chief minister for a second term on Sunday. Chow was first elected chief minister in 2018.

The Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional unity coalition had won a total of 29 out of 40 seats in the state in the recently concluded polls. – August 16, 2023.