The state-mooted ‘I Love Penang’ campaign rose a notch up today with the announcement of a 6km run that is to be held on March 12.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced the event, dubbed “I Love Penang Run”, will begin at 7am on Beach Street, which is best known for its bustling financial activities.

“There is no competition or contest. We will run because we love Penang,” Lim said at a press conference today.

“I will be running too,” he quipped, saying participants will be given a free T-shirt each and a medal.

Participants would have to fork out only RM15 to participate in the programme, Lim added.

He said the event was supposed to accommodate only 4,000 runners but the response has been “overwhelming”.

Due to such popular demand, the state government is willing to allow another 1,000 persons to participate in the run, which will be held on a Sunday.

The event comes after the state government and Gerakan launched their respective “I Love Penang” logo competitions.

These events are part of the “I Love Penang” campaign mooted by Lim to raise awareness on the plan to federalise the state, as proposed by Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor on Feb 1.

Tengku Adnan justified his proposal by saying that the move could help improve the lives of the Malay community and other ethnic groups in the state and provide them with more affordable housing.

However, several quarters have criticised Tengku Adnan’s proposal, saying it could only be realised after amendments to the Federal Constitution are made.

The proposal also needs the endorsement of the Conference of Rulers and Penang Legislative Assembly before it can be implemented.

However, Lim has continued to rage on Tengku Adnan’s proposal, propagating the notion that Penang would become a federal territory if BN wins the state in the coming 14th general election.