Penang PH Machinery 75 Pct Ready For Possible Snap Polls, Focused On Delivering Manifesto - Chow

GEORGE TOWN, May 19 (Bernama) -- Penang Pakatan Harapan (PH) is about 75 per cent prepared to face the possibility of the 16th General Election (GE16) being called earlier than expected, says Penang PH chairman Chow Kon Yeow.

He said that although the party machinery was always prepared, the state government’s current priority remained focused on ensuring that every manifesto promise to the people was fully delivered.

The Penang Chief Minister said as of April 30, the state government had successfully implemented 60 per cent of the 50 pledges under the 2023 Unity Government Manifesto (MyPenang Manifesto).

“A total of 17 more, or 34 per cent, are currently being implemented and only three manifesto pledges, or six per cent, have yet to begin as of April 30,” he said at a press conference at his office in Komtar here today.

On election readiness, Chow said the main issue was not whether the coalition was 100 per cent prepared, but rather the level of preparedness of the machinery should Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly be dissolved unexpectedly.

“If you ask me, I would say our level of preparedness is around 75 per cent, not completely prepared, but educatedly prepared if there is a possibility,” he said.

On Sunday (May 17), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hinted at the possibility of dissolving Parliament to hold GE16 earlier should partners in the Unity Government continue taking actions that threatened the country’s political stability.

Meanwhile, Chow said cooperation between PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) in Penang for the coming election remained open and subject to decisions by the national leadership.

He said each state had its own political dynamics, but the final decision would still depend on the central leadership before being coordinated by all states.

While delivering his address at the climax of the PH Convention 2026 in Johor Bahru on Sunday, Anwar expressed PH’s readiness to field candidates in all state seats in Johor and Negeri Sembilan should UMNO and BN decide to do the same in the next state elections.

-- BERNAMA