PENANG will not dissolve its state legislative assembly in the event that a snap general election is called, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He categorically stated that his Pakatan Harapan government was given a strong mandate to administer the state for five years at the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018.
Currently, PH holds 33 of the 40 seats in the state assembly.
“We think we have the strong mandate to continue until the next general election,” Chow responded to a question during an interview by a team from recently-launched news portal, The Vibes, in Komtar.
The team comprised its Northern Bureau head Ian McIntyre, journalists S. Arulldas, Sofia Nasir and Rachel Yeoh.
Chow said the general consensus among the chief executives of the states during a recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur was that the states would not follow Putrajaya if a snap general election is called.
However, Chow said that was the feeling at that time.
“But in politics, one day can be too long. We must always be open to changes in circumstances. The need will also change, so we can never rule out the possibility.”
Asked whether there should be an election during a Covid-19 pandemic like this, Chow said some countries had conducted elections even during this period.
“The US will also have a very big scale election.
“If it is needed for our country to have a snap election to solve a particular issue, then it is needed. Of course, the issue of Covid-19 has to be managed properly,” Chow said.
He said the Sabah election indicated that because of the increased human contacts, the basic tenets of the standard operating procedure (SOP) – like physical distancing and don’t go to crowded environment – all these were probably compromised.
“All this (practising the SOP) is not yet internalised.
“If an election is held, the interpersonal contact will increase. That exposes us to the possibility of infection.
“If it is held at a national scale, the concern will be much greater than just a state election.”
Asked about DAP’s performance in the just concluded Sabah state election, Chow, who is also the DAP vice-president, said the Sabah DAP performed well by retaining six seats and losing only one new seat.
“The new seat was not easy to win; other than that DAP has good majority wins.”
Chow said every group was hoping to win with a big majority to form a stable government but that did not happen at the Sabah polls.
“As the results show, Umno and BN (Barisan Nasional) are no longer the backbone of Sabah politics,” Chow said.
Asked how to bring down the level of politicking as in Penang, Chow said: “Work, work, and work.”
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alvie Cheng