State Election: Penang PH, Umno meeting to be held next week

GEORGETOWN - Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) will hold a meeting with the state Umno next week over seat allocations in Penang.

Its PH chairman Chow Kon Yeow, also said the state party will also hold another meeting on the matter in a few days this week.

"We have received a request from Penang Umno to hold a meeting to discuss the state election, including the seat allocation.

"Therefore, we have set a meeting with Penang Umno leaders next week," he said in a press conference at the chief minister's office in Komtar today.

He said the meeting only involved state Umno leaders and did not include other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.

"The meeting does not involve other BN component parties because we only receive requests from Penang Umno to hold a meeting," he said.

The Penang PH has yet to discuss seat distribution with the state BN, even though the state election was expected to be held in July.

Last week, Chow said BN would be given the opportunity to defend its two incumbent seats in Penang in this state election.

He said the Central DAP Executive Committee has decided that all seats will be returned to the respective incumbent parties in a meeting held on Wednesday.

He added the decision was made based on the agreed principle that all seats will be returned to the incumbent party, and PH will not ask for the seats from Umno or BN.

Penang has 40 State Legislative Assembly seats, and PH won 37 seats in the 2018 General Election, when Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) was still part of PH.

BN had won two seats, while Pas won one seat in Penaga.

After Bersatu left the PH coalition, two PKR assemblymen were sacked from the party and later joined Bersatu.

The four seats are Seberang Jaya, Sungai Acheh, Teluk Bahang, and Bertam, which are held by Perikatan Nasional (PN).

However, the four of them were expelled from the State Legislative Assembly last March after the Cabinet approved a motion to force them to vacate their seats according to the anti-party hopping law.