GE13 WATCH PENANG Out of the five marginal state seats in Penang in the 2008 general election, Umno won four and Pakatan one.

The polls this Sunday may see the seats swing either way as they were won by slim majorities - between 250 to 611.

Reasons affecting the outcome include poorly-placed candidates, internal bickering and split votes - one seat faces a five corner tussle!

If Pakatan wins these seats, it would strengthen the coalition as a multi-cultural entity with more Indian and Malay leaders becoming its state assemblypersons.

On the other hand, if Umno fails to retain the seats, it could spell the end of BN's era in Penang as it was the sole opposition party in the state legislative assembly.

Its allies Gerakan and MCA failed to capture any seats in the last GE and it's left to be seen if they can do any better this time round.

The marginal seats to watch out this time round are:

Sungai Acheh

PKR's candidate Badrul Hisham Shaharin (otherwise known as Chegu Bard) has a good chance of wresting Sungai Acheh from Umno's Mahmud Zakaria who won the seat with a mere majority of 250 in 2008.

NONE At the onset it seemed that Chegubard ( right ) was on the way to capture the hearts and minds of the young voters with his youth-focused 10-point manifesto.

However, it is clear that until today, the tussle for the seat under the Nibong Tebal constituency, between PAS and PKR remains unresolved with the former's supporters still continuing their campaign for the party's candidate Yusni Mat Piah.

PAS supporters with its usually strong machinery seem to be more bent on ensuring votes go to Yusni, since his name is still on the ballot paper although he has withdrawn from the race.

The rural seat, with agriculture and fishing dominating, has 15,592 voters, with 66% Malays, 26% Chinese and eight percent Indians,

Unless 50% of the Malays and 90% Chinese votes for change and the promise of Putrajaya, the seat would most likely remain with Umno.

Seberang Jaya

PKR has a fair chance of winning this seat under the Permatang Pauh constituency due to the internal bickering in BN and the appearance of an independent candidate aligned to the party.

Since nomination day, it was evident that BN's incumbent Arif Shah Omar Shah, has failed to show support for the candidate Muhammad Nasir Abdullah.

He was absent even when former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi paid a visit but to a turnout of a dismal 200 crowd.

arif shah Only on Thursday, Arif Shah ( left ) appeared on the same stage with former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Noor and former IGP Rahim Noor in a ceramah in Permatang Pasir, to castigate Anwar. But his speech was brief, merely asking people to vote for BN.

Permatang Pasir , another constituency under Permatang Pauh, is contested by PAS state commissioner Salleh Man, while Arif's presence in Seberang Jaya, his former seat has been scant.

PKR's Dr Afif Bahardin stands a good chance if he can reach out to the multi-ethnic community in Seberang Jaya which stands at 29,998 voters, with 64% Malays, 23% Chinese and 12% Indians.

The medical doctor is in a three corner tussle with Nasir and former Umno member Shamsut Tabrej GM Ismail Maricar.

Being the youngest candidate in the state, and also a potential deputy chief minister if Pakatan recaptures Penang, Afif presents is a breath of fresh air for the voters in the industrial zone.

Shamsut Tabrej will most likely only pull away most of the Malay votes from Umno, splitting its chances of retaining the seat which it won by a slim majority of 533 in 2008.

Teluk Bahang

Althoug it has always been an Umno stronghold, its candidate Dr Hilmi Yahya won the Teluk Bahang state seat by a mere 465 votes in 2008, signalling a wave of change was on the rise.

This happened despite Hilmi, being deputy chief minister then, was a popular and well known personality in the rural seat, which comprises many fishing villages.

Located within the Balik Pulau constituency, the seat has seen changes in the past five years under the DAP-led government, with the development of Escape, an adventure park, providing the locals employment and business opportunities in the area.

With a multi-racial outlook, PKR's candidate Abdul Halim Hussein has endeared himself to the local folks, by providing better equipment to the fisherfolk and halting massive development which could lead to evictions in the area.

NONE Being state legislative speaker for the past five years has allowed Abdul Halim ( left ) to wield some influence, heightening his profile and popularity as one of the few Pakatan Malay leaders in Penang.

Being a potential candidate for the deputy chief minister's post if Pakatan retains Penang gives Abdul Halim an added edge to capture the seat from his contender, Shah Haedan Ayoob Hussain Shah, who has had little presence there.

Bayan Lepas

PAS has been making inroads into the area with its long time candidate Asnah Hashim but she faces a three corner fight with former party supporters' club chairperson Dr Ooi Ah Loo @ Vellautham, an Independent, and Umno's Nordin Ahmad.

Although Ooi, a veteran leader, hopes to pull some votes from Asnah, he should be well aware that voters are often not in favour of ‘turncoats or frogs'.

Keen observers in Bayan Lepas , a state seat under Balik Pulau, say that Asnah has a better chance of capturing the seat this time due to the poor choice of Umno candidate Nordin.

After all, Asnah lost the seat by only 399 votes in 2008.

It is learnt that Nordin is not well received in the area, especially by his counterparts, who are supporters of incumbent Syed Ameruddin Syed Ahmad.

Syed Ameruddin may not be happy after being dropped from the seat or not considered at all for the Balik Pulau parliamentary constituency which he was also vying together with Hilmi and Pulau Betong candidate Muhammad Farid Saad.

Bayan Lepas, which houses the Penang International Airport, has 21,319 voters, with 64% Malays, 31% Chinese and five percent Indians.

The area sits snugly within the Free Trade Industrial Zone and is home to many multi-national companies and foreign workers.

Sungai Dua

This Malay majority rural seat under the Tasek Gelugor constituency was captured by Umno with a slight majority of 535.

However, when incumbent Jasmin Mohamed was dropped from the candidacy list, anger erupted among his supporters and that of his mentor - former Penang deputy chief minister Shariff Omar.

Disappointed with the decision, Shariff, who has been sacked by Umno, is currently contesting the Sungai Dua state seat and Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat as a Pakatan friendly candidate.

He may pose a challenge to Umno's Muhammad Yusoff Mohd Noor, which would favour PKR's Zahadi Mohd.

However, it is observed that the rural Malay voters, often influenced by sentiments of gratitude towards their leaders, may yet cast their voters in favour of Umno.

It is up now for Zahadi to capitalise on the internal bickering within Umno to give himself a better edge to win the seat.

Batu Uban

The incumbent, PKR, faces a tough challenge here as its candidate Jayabalan Thambyappa faces four others - Gerakan's Goh Kheng Sneah, and three independents -Mohd Noor Sirajudeen Abdul Kadeer, Baratharajan Narayanasamy Pillai and Rajendra Ammasi.

batu uban pkr polls 031010 s raveentharan PKR incumbent S Raveentharan ( right ) won the seat with a weak majority of 611 votes despite Bayan Baru , which houses Batu Uban , being a PKR stronghold.

While Baratharajan and Rajendra are virtually unknowns in the area, Mohd Noor, the Penang Malay Congress secretary, is quite well-known, being involved in several welfare programmes in the state.

Goh, on the other hand, was not even a favourite in Gerakan when he was nearly dropped from the party's candidate list.

He was added on at the eleventh hour after much lobbying, and after the party felt that he would not fare so badly against a political newbie fielded by PKR.

However, things may turn in Jayabalan's favour after all if the two independent candidates - Baratharajan and Rajendra - spilt the Indian votes between themselves.

With 28,704 voters in Batu Uban, 60% Chinese, 27% Malays and 13% Indians, Jayabalan will do well if he captures 80-90 percent of the Chinese votes.

This is not something impossible considering the current wave of change hitting the island among Chinese voters, with large ceramah support for DAP, despite BN wooing them with offers of free food, mega concerts, charity funds and attractive lucky draws via the 1Malaysia-Penang Welface Club.

And if the Malay votes are split between Goh and Mohd Noor, a lawyer and outspoken defender of Malay rights, Jayabalan may emerge the victor in this five corner race.