Learn from Penang’s 1971 political tumult: Pemenang chief

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GEORGE TOWN – Some political observers are seeing similarities between the federal-level political tussle and that which hit Penang in 1971 when the then chief minister lost his majority.

Six assemblymen had exited Gerakan and withdrawn support for then chief minister Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.

This left the state assembly with Lim’s 12 Gerakan reps, six in the opposition led by the late Tan Sri Tan Kee Choon, and another 12 aligned with the Alliance, comprising Umno, MCA and MIC.

“Lim knew that it was virtually impossible to govern an impoverished Penang with no support from the federal government, so he made overtures to the then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who agreed for the sake of stability to work with Gerakan. Gerakan was an opposition party at the federal level,” Penang Malay Association (Pemenang) president Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff told The Vibes.


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