GEORGE TOWN: It has been a rough start for several candidates in Penang in the first week of campaigning.
There were several awkward moments with Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau, who is contesting in the Malay-majority state seat of Bayan Lepas.
When his candidacy was confirmed by Perikatan Nasional, PAS grassroots had threatened to boycott the polls.
It was learnt that Penang PAS secretary Iszuree Ibrahim was initially slated for the seat.
On Tuesday, when Lau visited the Perikatan mega ceramah in Sungai Dua, Iszuree was seen raising his hand to Lau and saying “cannot” and “you can leave”.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan has since apologised to Lau on behalf of the party.
Pakatan Harapan was not left out of heated affairs in the Bagan Dalam and Perai seats when two DAP members resigned and are contesting as Independents after not being selected as candidates by the party.
Ex-DAP city councillor David Marshel, known to be a close ally of former Perai assemblyman Dr P. Ramasamy, left the DAP after 15 years and is contesting as an Independent in the Perai seat.
Former Bagan Dalam assemblyman M. Satees, who resigned after he was not chosen to defend his seat, is also contesting on an Independent ticket.
Both Satees and Marshel have been up in arms since nomination day. Embittered, they let loose insults against Pakatan’s “replacement” candidates K. Kumaran (Bagan Dalam) and Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo (Perai).
Marshel is contesting against Sundarajoo, a former deputy chief executive officer of a property development company, while Satees faces former city councillor K. Kumaran, whom Satees had been taunting as a “driver” and “bag carrier” of DAP national chairman Lim Guan Eng, who is Bagan MP.
Instead of trading barbs though, both Kumaran and Sundarajoo have chosen to remain calm and have been focusing on walkabouts to speak with voters daily.
Another Pakatan candidate, Phee Syn Tze, had a minor social media hiccup when it was discovered that she has a permanent resident visa for New Zealand.
The issue got out of proportion to the point that voters wondered if she had double citizenship.
But she said she left New Zealand in 2008 and came back to help her father, Phee Boon Poh, win a state seat and was offered a post in the state executive council.
Syn Tze got married in Penang in 2012 and both her son and daughter are schooling here.
The heat is expected to intensify even further in some seats, especially in Permatang Pauh, comprising Permatang Pasir, Penanti and Seberang Jaya where Perikatan is expected to make an impact in these Malay-majority seats.
Both Pakatan-Barisan Nasional and Perikatan brought political heavyweights to help campaign in such Malay-majority seats on the mainland in the past week.
The Bertam seat, which falls under the Kepala Batas parliamentary constituency, became the focus since the Pakatan-Barisan pact agreed to field former minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican to take on incumbent Khaliq Mehtab from Bersatu.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong went to Bertam to assist in the campaigning.
Other notable candidates were the incumbent for Permatang Berangan, Nor Hafizah Othman; Penang Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Shaik Hussein Mydin, who is contesting in the Sungai Dua seat; and Ahmad Zaki Shah Shah Headan, the son of a former assemblyman, who is vying for the Telok Bahang seat.
