Penang Umno Youth will cease calls for the state chief minister post to be alternated between Umno and Gerakan, said Umno Youth representative Wahid Osman.

He said this on the heels of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's decision that the CM post belonged to Gerakan. Abdullah is also the Barisan Nasional chairperson.

Wahid, who is Batu Kawan Umno division chief, said that the party had twice proposed alternating the post, as Umno has a majority in the state assembly.

The proposal was rejected both times, first by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and then again last year by Abdullah.

"We have decided not to propose the same thing again," he said.

Wahid said that instead, Umno would focus on taking back the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, which was won by PKR for the past two terms.

The seat is currently held by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Ismail. She won it in the 1999 election and subsequently retained it in 2004 by a slim majority. Opposition party DAP currently controls four parliamentary seats, namely Bagan, Tanjung, Bukit Mertajam and Bukit Gelugor.

Deal with Chinese issues

Wahid also claimed that support for the opposition came mostly from Chinese voters who were disillusioned with the Umno government.

"This is not a new thing. It has happened in other places in Penang, especially in areas where an Umno candidate is vying for a seat with a Chinese candidate," he said.

Wahid put the Chinese support down to Chinese affinity with its own race and "this makes it difficult for Penang to get votes from Chinese-dominated areas."

According to the Umno Youth analysis, DAP candidates won seats in areas where the Chinese population made up more than 80 percent.

In this connection, Wahid cautioned that to appease the Chinese community, issues on the economy, Chinese schools and temples must be dealt with before the next general election.

BN holds 38 out of 40 seats in the state assembly - Umno (14), MCA (9), Gerakan (13) and MIC (2). The other two seats are held by DAP and PAS.