Penang round-up While fireworks are expected in several states in the upcoming general election, the battle for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's home ground Penang will be as 'mild' as the premier himself.

No major obstacles are forecasted for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and its component party Gerakan - which is reported to have received two additional state seats - is expected to hold on to the chief ministership

Opposition party DAP, which came close to winning the country's only Chinese-majority state in the 1990 polls, has this time scaled down their ambitions - the party seeks to defend its four parliamentary and one state seats it won in the last elections.

According to party's state chief Chow Kon Yeow, having someone who hailed from Penang as the prime minister will "make this election the most difficult battle for us".

Abdullah, who became prime minister last November, will be contesting in his parliamentary stronghold of Kepala Batas and pundits are predicting a landslide victory.

Kit Siang's presence

As far as DAP's strategy is concerned, one sizzling issue is whether its chairperson Lim Kit Siang would contest in the state.

In the previous polls, the veteran politician lost to Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye by a tissue-thin of 104 votes in the fight for the Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat.

However, talk is abuzz that the opposition heavyweight would shift his focus to Perak this time around, namely the Ipoh Timur parliamentary seat.

Nevertheless, Chow said that DAP's charge in Penang would not be affected should the party leader chooses to contest elsewhere.

"It won't affect the state (DAP) very much. Lim is not directly involved at the state level. There has been many changes in the (DAP) state level, changes in leadership and a new mindset. We are independent and can bear the responsibility of putting up a strong line-up for this general election," he added.

Although Lim may be absent from the state for the coming polls, his veteran deputy, Karpal Singh, is expected to seek redemption in the Jelutong parliamentary seat, a seat which he had held for four terms.

In 1999, Karpal, a renowned criminal lawyer, lost to Gerakan's Lee Ka Choon by a sliver of 775 votes out of 42,207 votes cast.

Pundits said the re-match will be too close to call. However, it is learnt that Karpal may abandon Penang altogether and contest a seat in Selangor where he spends most of his time.

Keadilan: Two schools of thoughts

Penang is also significant to another opposition party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan), as it is the home state of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who was the MP for Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

After Anwar's sacking in 1998 and subsequent jailing for corruption and sodomy, his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail - who is Keadilan leader - successfully retained the seat with a thumping 9,077 vote majority.

The mother of six will defend the seat again and is not expected to face much of a problem. Permatang Puah is shaping up to be a women's battle as BN is said to be fielding a female candidate there.

Commenting on the opposition's chances, Keadilan's state deputy chief Cheah Kah Peng said it is difficult to predict whether the opposition would garner more seats in the upcoming polls.

He explained that there are two schools of thought prevailing among the voters - one, is for them to support the new premier and two, to vote for the opposition due to numerous unresolved local issues.

Keadilan's Barisan Alternatif ally PAS however remains tightlipped about its plans for Penang with a spokesperson disclosing nothing more than "we are confident of winning one or two state seats".

PAS currently holds one state seat - Permatang Pasir.

Out of the 13 parliamentary and 40 state seats in Penang, the opposition controls five and three respectively.

MCA's 'errant' candidates

On the MCA front, its Penang chief Wong Kam Hoong will defend his Bayan Baru seat and is expected to retain it without much sweat.

According to party sources, its Dato Keramat state assemblyperson Lim Boo Chang will contest for the new parliamentary seat Bukit Gelugor, which is also rumoured to be eyed by both Keadilan and DAP.

The seat, which is considered 'highly winnable' for the opposition, may end up becoming a three-cornered fight as the hiccups-ridden seat talks between Keadilan and DAP have yet to conclude.

Observers claim that MCA's decision to field Boo Chang in the 'risky' seat could be a 'punishment' for his abstention from voting for an opposition motion in the state assembly against the controversial Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr) last year.

However, the MCA state assemblyperson for Jawi Tan Cheng Liang, who also abstained from voting, is not affected and will defend her current seat.

The duo's abstention irked BN leaders, including former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and they were later slapped with a suspension.

Previously Boo Chang had told malaysiakini that he would prefer to stand in Dato Keramat, but the seat - together with the Bayan Lepas state seat held by Lim Chien Aun - will be contested by Gerakan.

The two seats are Gerakan strongholds as Boo Chang and Lim won them as members of the party but latter crossed over to MCA.

A Penang MCA source said Lim's fate is unknown and there have been rumours of him being axed from the list of candidates.

However, their removal could benefit the opposition as the voters in the two constituencies are said to be die-hard supporters of their respective representatives.

Ruling parties' rivalry

The battle for Penang is not so much between the BN and the opposition but between two members of the ruling coalition - Gerakan and MCA.

Both parties have constantly been at loggerheads especially over the issue of controlling the Chinese-majority state after Gerakan snatched it from MCA in the 1969 polls.

However, the parties have recently decided to bury the hatchet and are even going as far as exploring the possibility of a merger in order to strengthen the ruling front.

Though many do not believe that the merger is a realistic idea - at least in the short term - the proposal will help the two parties to shore up support from the Chinese voters.

Following the recent redelineation exercise by the Election Commission, Penang has seven additional state seats and two parliamentary seats.

Of this, it is reported that MCA will be given an extra parliamentary seat while Gerakan will receive two more state seats.

At present, MCA controls 11 state seats - following the defections of Boo Chang and Lim - as opposed to the nine under Gerakan.

Both parties will be vying to outdo each other with an eye on the coveted chief ministership, which is currently held by Gerakan despite it having fewer seats.