Thirty years ago, a young and timid Chow Kon Yeow could not resist accepting the offer to become Lim Kit Siang’s political secretary, when the DAP supremo won the Tanjung seat in Penang.

That career set Chow on his political path, but little did he know that he would one day become Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s “natural choice” to replace him.

The day finally came on June 30 for the 58-year-old Chow, when Lim was slapped with two corruption charges related to the purchase of his RM2.8 million bungalow on Jalan Pinhorn, which he allegedly purchased below market value.

Lim’s opponents called for him to be a gentleman and step down from his post pending trial, but DAP proposed a snap state election instead.

The proposal was finally ditched when DAP’s closest ally, PKR, decided not to toe the line due to the party’s fear that it may lose many seats should the polls be held.

In the midst of the chaos, DAP, which had never before discussed matters related to Lim’s succession, was forced to consider his replacement should the inevitable happen.

So it is only natural that Chow, as the Penang DAP chief since 2000, finds himself in a position where he is ready to take up the challenge in case Lim is convicted and jailed.

“Someone has to be ready to take over and face the challenges of either winning the next election without Guan Eng, or, if it happens later, continue to rule the state,” Chow said in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini.

“These are great challenges for his successor anyway. If it is not me, then another successor will face the same tasks,” he added, when met at his office on Komtar’s 52nd floor i n George Town, after working hours.

No stranger to responsibilities

A wide spectrum of challenges, including the often hostile state-federal relations, Pakatan Harapan’s future, and continuing Lim’s CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) policies await him, Chow said.

Although the tasks ahead of him seem humongous, the calm and stoic Chow is unfazed as he has always been given heavy and important responsibilities.

He handles a tough portfolio as state exco for local government, traffic management and flood mitigation committee.

“All these are good experiences that can be useful if such an eventuality (replacing Lim) happens in the future,” said the former Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) graduate, who studied sociology and politics.

“I am like an understudy, I have been given a lot of opportunities to learn from him (Lim),” Chow said.

But Chow is no Lim – the fiery, bold, and glamorous CM who ruled Penang with a steely determination since 2008, much to the chagrin of some members, allies and his opponents in BN and PAS.

Chow may think he is Lim’s understudy, but others have always viewed him with a touch of sympathy as someone who appears to be “hiding under” Lim’s overpowering shadow.

He laughed when told that during press conferences with Lim, he is often asked to field the tough questions.

“That is part of the preparation,” he said, laughing, as he peered from the mountain of paperwork and documents on his work desk.

“But probably, the question asked is not under his portfolio, and I have more correct information to share,” said the Padang Kota assemblyperson, quick to defend his boss.

Over the years, many have tried to pit Chow against Lim.

For example, last year during the party’s Penang internal polls, mysterious banners appeared on the island and mainland, asking Chow to be the CM, instead of Lim who is not a Penangite but hails from Johor.

Chow himself was not born in Penang but lived on in the state after his studies in USM.

He expressed only admiration for Lim, who is also the party secretary-general-cum-lawmaker for the Bagan parliamentary and Air Putih state seat.

DAP’s recent decision to postpone the party's internal election has paved the way for Lim to hold on to his powerful secretary-general's post until the 2018 general election.

“I admire his boldness in taking on the federal government, protecting state rights so that the state is not discriminated by federal government policies. He will fight to get what he wants for Penang, that is something I admire a lot,” Chow explained.

“Many may complain about his strong personality; that is both a strength and weakness, maybe, but the strength is he can achieve what I have mentioned earlier, protecting the rights of the state,” he added.

Another 'tokong' in the making?

Because Lim is set in his ways and is often worshipped by his supporters as “one who can do no wrong,” he is often labelled “tokong” (deity).

One look at Chow, however, and it is obvious the man who hails from Kuala Lumpur does not have any 'deity' traits.

Chow concurs, saying it was a big surprise for his school and college mates when he ended up as a career politician. Thirty years have passed and he has not looked back since.

“I have always been low profile, humble and not so outstanding in public speaking, not that charismatic,” he admitted.

Despite this seeming character flaw, Chow does not intend to copy Lim’s personality or style in doing things.

He does not intend to be “aggressive or abrasive” as he does not have such personality traits, he said.

“Probably, I will be able to get more things done the way that I carry myself, with the government servants, with the people, and probably later with federal government in the future – I'm not too sure,” he said.

For now, he is comfortable carrying out his duties as the loyal DAP member who has only one thing in mind when in Komtar: to finish the tasks under his portfolio.

“You will notice that I had grown into this position, taking up important jobs, finishing it out of the limelight, maybe.

“But the important thing is to get things done, and also to support state government policies,” he said.

“It is a teamwork effort, everybody belongs to the team. The executive council worked very well for the past two terms,” he added.

“We are one in spirit, united, and we all support the chief minister and his policies."

No radical changes

He is reminded that despite his shyness and reserved character, he still managed to get the highest votes in the party’s Penang internal polls last year, giving the impression that he leads a strong faction in the state.

He replied, “If there is a faction, then I must belong to the biggest faction because I got the top vote. Actually there is no faction.

“Everyone believed that I'm someone who will lead the party in this political juncture,” he said.

Still, Chow is not someone who will bring radical changes to the state government, or rock the boat with party members and allies. Nor should the public expect he would do things differently from Lim should he eventually take over the CM’s post.

“Definitely Lim has a lot of ideas or visions which we caught on, definitely the whole exco caught on his vision and idea for Penang and respectively, in our portfolio we tried to work towards that direction,” Chow said.

“I think that vision could be continued to propel Penang to the next stage of development.

“You may have a lot of views about CAT but we will continue CAT, continue engaging and listening to the people, to be more inclusive and people-centric,” he added.

Tomorrow: DAP's future in Pakatan Harapan and GE14.