YOURSAY | ‘Would calling snap polls take place if there were no charges against Guan Eng?’

Langkah Kajang to Penang Move - pitfalls of the opposition

HaveAGreatDay: Yes, the early state polls will not change the status of the charge hanging over Penang CM Lim Guan Eng's neck.

I for one also feels he has let the rakyat down by getting himself quagmired in the corruption charge. Be that as it may, I still feel it is political persecution and the DAP has every right to go to the rakyat for a political verdict.

Even if Guan Eng wins by a landslide in the early state elections (for argument sake, let's say Amanah even manages to sweep the Umnoputras away from the political scene in Penang), it is a given that Guan Eng will be going behind bars.

And it is for that very reason, the DAP has every right to call for snap polls (forget the PKR - they are wimps because they have not been pulling their weight as trustworthy allies in the opposition).

Writer Hazlan Zakaria's writings have a slant against the opposition - true or otherwise is, of course subjective - but that is my personal opinion.

Why is calling snap elections an abuse of the electoral process? Has there been no snap general elections called?

Proarte: Hear, hear. Personally, I agree with Hazlan that having snap elections is an abuse of the democratic process. Pakatan Harapan has a comfortable majority in the state assembly and Guan Eng's popularity is not in doubt.

DAP must be honest and ask themselves these questions: Would calling a snap election take place if there were no corruption charges against Guan Eng? Would the US Department of Justice (DOJ) revelations and civil proceedings against individuals associated with 1MDB, on its own, be justification for holding snap elections in Penang? I think we all know the answer.

The snap election is cynically riding on the disgust with Najib Abdul Razak's regime compounded by the DOJ revelations regarding 1MDB to act as a proxy repudiation of the charges against Guan Eng.

This, I feel, undermines the democratic process and is deliberately fudging the issue for personal political advantage. This is not an example of good governance, and competency, accountability and transparency (CAT).

I do not think state elections are warranted when Pakatan Harapan has a comfortable majority and Guan Eng's popularity is not in doubt. PKR is not happy about the elections and have strong reservations. So what justifies the election?

The elections results are a foregone conclusion, and only serve to show how disgusted the Penang people are with Najib and the allegedly rotten BN administration.

But the more harmful corollary is to give the impression that Guan Eng's corruption charges are of no concern to the Penang people. Now, this is harmful to democracy and any hope for future good governance.

If there are to be elections, then let us know whether Guan Eng did approve the re-zoning of the Balik Pulau land to the businesswoman's financial advantage. This can only be known during the court case.

Let us not rush into unnecessary elections before we know basic facts about the corruption charges.

Anonymous_1371547149: It's DAP's call. If you don't like it, and you are not a Penangite , you can stuff it. If you don't like it and you are a Penangite, you can always come out and vote for BN or PAS. Take your pick.

So no need to get into a huff and puff about DAP's decision to hold a snap election.

Robbed: There is no need for DAP to prove anything to the rakyat. No one is a saint or perfect.

Taking into consideration the state of the nation, we don’t need a snap state election, but general election (GE) yes.

Yap Cs: Why is this 'electoral process tampering' mentioned? As far as I'm aware, BN electoral tampering involves alleged gerrymandering, phantom voters, transfer of voters from their original constituents, paying money to voters, etc.

Would calling early polls a 'electoral process tampering'? In fact, it the right of the current government to call an election as it sees fit. It is in the constitution. And legal. It may be inconvenient. But still legal.

Amanah agrees, crowd says aye to snap polls in Penang

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/349881

Rick Teo: While the idea for a snap election sounds good, it will be a mistake. The state election will allow BN to concentrate its resources in one state and allow them to play trickery on the election procedures.

Postal voters and perhaps phantom voters will cause DAP and PKR to lose in many marginal seats. That's allegedly the reason why the opposition lost in Sarawak and the two by-elections.

Mafeeah: Despite that Pakatan will win Penang again, I will say no elections for now. Concentrate on the matter in hand and slowly bring BN to shame.

Justicekini: DAP commands most of the Chinese and Indian seats but with PAS, it’s the other way around. PKR/Amanah fear losing some Malay seats.

If all the Penang people are with Guan Eng, then a snap election is worth the call, go for it.

Senior: I disagree. It is tantamount to using politics to influence a legal matter. If need be, it would have to be well after the case is over.

Time for Change: Hi, Senior, it is not a legal matter, but a 'legal' matter. Are you aware of the difference now?

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