Penang's opposition leader yet to be decided

29 Aug 2023 03:55pm

The opposition leader of Penang will be determined before the upcoming State Legislative Assembly session in November

GEORGETOWN - Perikatan Nasional (PN) central leadership will decide who will be named as state opposition leader before the upcoming State Legislative Assembly session in November.

Penang Pas Commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff said that the matter is still under discussion.

He added that several names have been proposed to the PN leadership among the 11 representatives of Pas and Bersatu in the state.

Among the names proposed are himself and state Bersatu chairman Zulkefli Bakar.

"We leave it to the top PN leadership to decide on the matter.

"We will announce to the Assembly who will be the opposition leader of the state before the upcoming session," he said to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony of 40 members of the State Legislative Assembly at the State Legislative Assembly building here today.

When asked if there were any issues in the selection of the leader, Muhammad Fauzi said there were none.

"There are no issues; opposition leaders in other states like Selangor and Negeri Sembilan are also being decided by the top PN leadership," he emphasised.

Meanwhile, when asked if he would be appointed as the opposition leader, Muhammad Fauzi said that he leaves it to the PN central leadership to decide.

Previously, in March, PN Penang named former Bertam State Legislative Assembly member Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq as the opposition leader for the Penang State Legislative Assembly.

This was done following the formation of the Unity Government, which consists of a coalition of political parties including Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN), and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

Previously, the position of Opposition Leader of the Penang State Legislative Assembly was held by the BN's Sungai Dua State Legislative Assembly, Datuk Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Noor.

For this term, Pas has seven state legislative assemblies, while Bersatu has four.

PN won 11 out of the 40 contested seats in the 15th State General Election (GE15) in Penang, namely Penaga, Permatang Berangan, Pinang Tunggal, Sungai Dua, Telok Ayer Tawar, Pulau Betong, Telok Bahang, Sungai Bakap, Penanti, Seberang Jaya, and Permatang Pasir.