GEORGETOWN (Aug 12): The Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) alliance won the Penang state election on Saturday (Aug 12) with a two-thirds majority, after winning 29 of the 40 seats in the state legislative assembly.

This victory, however, is not as resounding as that in the 2018 general election when PH — then contesting on its own — won 37 seats.

However, caretaker Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said PH will form a Unity Government with BN. He is expected to be sworn in as the chief minister on Monday.

According to the Election Commission, PH component party DAP won in all the 19 constituencies it fielded candidates, while PKR retained seven out of the 13 seats contested and Amanah won one of the two seats contested.

BN fielded candidates in six constituencies but only managed to win in two.

PH-BN's rival Pakatan Nasional (PN) secured 11 seats in Penang.  PN won the Teluk Bahang and Pulau Betung seats on Penang island, while on the mainland it swept Permatang Pasir, Pinang Tunggal, Teluk Ayer Tawar, Sungai Bakap, Seberang Jaya, Penanti, Penaga, Permatang Berangan and Sungai Dua.

Speaking to the press at the Wembly St Giles Hotel ballroom, Chow said the number of seats won by PH-BN were within his target of 30 seats, which was devised based on the political climate in the last few years.

"We have been very realistic with the target and we know that the [political] changes are real and it is encroaching into our support," he said.

PH-BN, he said, acknowledged the need to address the issues which would be done by the alliance and the state government by reaching out to find out "what are the areas people are unhappy about".

"It is also a national thing and state thing now, so definitely we won’t rest on our laurels but we will analyse the results and take the necessary action to address the issue."

State PKR chief Datuk Muhammad Bakthiar Wan Chik said the results were a lesson for the coalition although he claimed the party had been prepared since November last year.

Although PKR retained mixed seats, they lost in Malay-majority constituencies, including in Penanti, Permatang Pasir and Seberang Jaya, the three seats under the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.

The parliamentary seat was once the stronghold of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. It was later retained by Anwar's wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim and their daughter Nurul Izzah.

“When Nurul lost in 2022, we focussed our energy there because we wanted to stop the green wave.

“However, I have not yet analysed the results for the three seats yet. I think the majorities are neck and neck. We have to see by how many votes we lost. If we had lost by less than the majority (for Permatang Pauh) in 2022, it means we have a chance to repair the condition there,” he said.

That being said, Bakhtiar, who is Balik Pulau MP, said the party “has to accept the decision of the people” and would make sure PKR candidates scrutinise the reasons why they lost.

“We feel the opposition played on sentiments which we couldn’t fight in time. The sentiment influenced the minds of the youths. So, it is something we expected but we did not have enough time to address the sentiment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Penang Umno chief Datuk Seri Musa Sheikh Fadzir said a post mortem would be conducted on BN’s performance in Penang. It won Bertam and Sungai Acheh constituencies on the mainland.

“We are not disappointed but we need to see our weaknesses. In the meantime, we would continue servicing the constituencies, including the ones we lost,” he said.

Asked whether it was a result of the rise in the green wave, Musa declined to comment but noted that some seats, such as Teluk Bahang, which was lost to PN by a majority of around 900 votes, needed to be analysed.

“Voters rejected four seats of ours. We want to know why the people rejected us, although we accept their decision. I want to thank the BN election machinery and the Unity Government who helped BN candidates. That was all we could do. Both the winners would give their support and support the Unity Government,” he said.