The Nibang Tebal Umno Youth division today said there is nothing racial behind the call for the Penang chief minister's post to be rotated among Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.

The Youth wing has agreed to raise the resolution calling for the rotation at the Penang Umno divisions' meet on Aug 13.

Contacted today, it's chief Shafie Kassim said the wing feels the time has come for the post to be rotated in accordance with BN's spirit of cooperation.

"We have no ulterior motives and this resolution is not a racial issue. We are not asking the post only for Umno but for all BN component parties.

"We are suggesting that the post be rotated among Gerakan, MCA and Umno as the three parties hold the majority seats in the state assembly," he added.

The current Penang chief minister, Dr Koh Tsu Khoon, is also the vice-president of Gerakan, a predominantly Chinese party which has been controlling the state for decades.

In the 2004 general elections, Umno won 14 of the 15 seats contested while Gerakan was victorious in all its 13 seats. MCA, on the other hand, took nine out of the 10 contested.

Opposition parties DAP and PAS have a single seat each in the 40-seat state assembly.

The groups behind the rotation call are hoping to push the resolution through to the Umno annual general assembly later this year.

Similar calls in the past were rejected by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Don't monopolise

Meanwhile, in arguing the case, Shafie said if the chief minister's post can be rotated in Sabah, it can also be done in Penang.

He stressed that Gerakan cannot monopolise the post as Umno and MCA also have a right.

"Gerakan must understand, they did not win the elections on their own but with the help and cooperation from friends. We have compromised on this issue for a long time," he said.

The Nibong Tebal Youth wing is the first to pass the resolution while two other wings - Permatang Pauh and Bukit Mertajam - will discuss the resolution at their respective meetings over the weekend.

The resolution is expected to get the approval of at least 10 out of the 13 Youth wings in the state.

The Nibong Tebal Umno division is headed by Penang Deputy Chief Minister Abdul Rashid Abdullah.