A senior PKR politician has denied that the Pakatan Harapan coalition in Penang is in turmoil following several conflicts between the party's assemblypersons and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said such incidents would not affect morale and the spirit of solidarity between the component parties.

"We are very much intact. It has not come to the stage where Harapan is broken," Saifuddin told Malaysiakini.

"Conflicts are usually treated as isolated matters or a healthy buildup to democracy," claimed Saifuddin who is also Lim's political advisor.

The "isolated cases" involved assemblypersons for Penanti Norlela Ariffin and Kebun Bunga's Cheah Kah Peng.

Norlela ruffled feathers among her colleagues and irked Lim when she raised the issue of an illegal factory in Sungai Lembu, Bukit Mertajam.

Her complaints led to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arresting state executive councillor for environment Phee Boon Poh for alleged graft.

Cheah, meanwhile, had queried the corporatisation of the Penang Botanical Gardens while Lim (below) has taken him to task over his handling of the flood situation in Hong Seng estate.

Both assemblypersons are part of the group called "PKR Five” who abstained from voting against an Umno motion to halt reclamation projects in 2016, an action which Lim described as a "sabotage".

But despite these conflicts, Saifuddin said preparations for the 14th national polls are underway and Harapan is prepared to face BN and PAS in three-cornered fights.

As for attacks by BN on various issues especially the controversial RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel, Saifuddin said, "We've been through such tactics before," referring to the 1999, 2008 and 2013 national polls.

The biggest attack then was against PKR's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim who is currently serving a five-year jail term for a sodomy conviction. He is expected to be released in June.

"Some people will be swayed by such tactics but not that many that it would trouble us," he said.

Saifuddin also appeared unfazed by reports of the possibility of BN regaining its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

However, he admitted that Harapan was still the underdog as BN continued to exploit government machinery at the federal level to its advantage.

"To hold BN accountable, voters must embrace their moral compass to differentiate between right and wrong rather than lean further into their comfort zones of race, religion or status quo."

Penang has 40 state seats with DAP holding 19, PKR 10, Umno 10 and PAS one.

The 14th general elections need to be called by August, with many observers predicting a bitter race between main rivals BN and Harapan.