CHIEF Minister Chow Kon Yeow has called upon the audience who turned up for the Penang Pakatan Harapan ceramah at the Penang Chinese Town Hall (PCTH) last night to take part in a social media campaign, called “Jom Keluar Undi Untuk Selamatkan Malaysia” (Come Out to Vote To Save Malaysia).
It was the first ceramah held by Penang Pakatan Harapan at PCTH after all its candidates were successfully confirmed to contest for all the 13 parliamentary seats in the state.
Chow said it was important to launch this campaign to get a voter turnout of 85% or more to topple Barisan Nasional, like in the last general election.
He said he was encouraged when a voter told him at the ceramah last night that he had just come back from Indonesia to vote and another told him that he had flown back to Penang from Australia to do likewise during his walkabout in Valdor earlier yesterday.
“So, it is important for those living in Malaysia to come out and vote. Don’t surrender your rights.
“From today, spread the ‘Jom Keluar Undi Untuk Selamatkan Malaysia’ campaign through social media. You, the people, are the agent of change. Come out in droves to vote.
“The future of Malaysia is in your hands. Kita Boleh (We Can),” Chow said in his speech.
Earlier, Chow said although Pakatan Harapan managed to administer the country for only 22 months before being brought down by a backdoor government following the ‘Sheraton Move’, the people must not give up hope.
Politics, he said, is a long struggle, citing DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang for persevering for 57 long years.
In 2018, Chow said, Putrajaya was won as a result of many years of struggle.
With the battle lines already drawn, the Penang DAP leaders and assemblymen did not waste time by kicking off the ceramah with their fiery speeches.
Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi was the first to take the stage, followed by Batu Lancang assemblyman Ong Ah Teong, Bukit Bendera candidate Syerleena Abdul Rashid, incumbent Jelutong MP R.S.N. Rayer, incumbent Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Zairil Khir Johari, Kit Siang, incumbent Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh, Tanjong candidate Lim Hui Ying and finally Chow.
Hui Ying, who has been actively involved in politics for 20 years and is currently the Penang DAP secretary, and Syerleena, who is the Seri Delima assemblyman for this term, are both contesting their respective parliamentary seats for the first time.
Hui Ying, in her speech, said her manifesto would focus on early preparation in facing the ageing population, further strengthening George Town’s status as a Unesco World Heritage Site and solving the issue of gender equality, specifically on the citizenship of children born to Malaysian mothers.
Syerleena, on her part, urged the attendees to vote for a clean, caring and corruption-free government.
“We did the impossible in 2018 by toppling Barisan Nasional. A change is possible again for the sake of our children and grandchildren,” she said.
Rayer, who is defending his Jelutong parliamentary seat, said it was not enough for Penang Pakatan Harapan to win.
“We want Pakatan Harapan to win from Perlis to Sabah,” Rayer said.