DAP leaders Lim Guan Eng and Chow Kon Yeow must put aside their differences and start working together to turn Penang into becoming a major investment destination, former Penang deputy chief minister P. Ramasamy.

Ramasamy left DAP after falling out of favour with the two men.

“Chow and Lim are not the best friends on earth, but surely in the larger interests of Penang, they should sit down together to think intelligently and wisely for the future potential of Penang,” he said in a statement today.

“In the absence of any healthy distraction, the animosity between both will grow to the extent of harming and injuring the future potential of Penang

“The continuing feud is something that will work to the advantage of the PN to take over Penang in the next general election.

Ramasamy said DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke lacked the seniority, experience and boldness to resolve the conflict between the two party leaders.

Lim is the DAP chairman while Chow heads the state chapter. Chow replaced Lim as the Penang chief minister after the 2018 general election.

Lim’s relationship with Chow has been strained for some time now, leaving many to speculate that the former wants to replace the CM with his man.

Earlier today, Lim had questioned Chow over Penang’s loss of an integrated circuit (IC) design project to Selangor, adding that this would cause technology companies to prefer to invest instead in Selangor.

Lim said Penang was fast losing its high-tech hub tag.

In response, Chow said Penang would continue to attract foreign and local investments to the state.

Ramasamy said it was not surprising that Penang had lost the IC design project to Selangor, adding that the state “might lose its competitive edge due to unimaginative leadership”.

He said that Chow was not an aggressive leader like Lim, and that the chief minister relied too much on  unimaginative civil servants.

Ramasamy warned that Penang could lose more to other states if the leadership remains entrapped in the comfort of bureaucracy.

“This is the last and final term for Chow as the chief minister of Penang. It is time that he sheds his nice and friendly guy approach to call for a major conference on future investments in Penang,” he said. – April 26, 2024.