Malaysia's 'Silicon Valley', the island state of Penang, has become a hotbed of discontent among ethnic Chinese voters who are chafing under the dominance of the Barisan Nasional-led government.

Opposition parties are hoping to capitalise on the mood to deny the ruling BN coalition a two-thirds majority for the first time in history in Saturday's elections, both nationally and in the Penang state assembly.

toh kin woon interview 160605 confident Toh Kin Woon, a senior figure in the Gerakan party which leads the coalition state government, admitted there is "a lot of frustration among Chinese voters" in the state, the only one in Malaysia where they are in the majority.

"The battle for votes here is heating up. The Chinese feel they are being sidelined in the country's development. They do not see the growth trickling down to them," he told AFP in an interview.

The island, a showpiece of Malaysian development, is home to top electronics companies like Sony and Intel, and many Chinese living here are in business or professions and less dependent on government aid.

The opposition DAP is making a strong stand in Penang, fielding a number of high-profile candidates as it attempts to break the coalition's stranglehold.

Toh admitted that voters are keen to see the opposition given a more prominent role to act as a curb on corruption, which is a major headache for business here.

"They want a strong opposition to play the role of check and balance against abuses," he said, adding that the coalition needed to be honest about its problems.

Formidable election machine

Albert Lim, a 51-year-old equity investor in Penang, said that apart from abuse of the New Economic Policy, high inflation and the creeping "Islamisation" of Malaysia were also concerns for Chinese voters.

"If you are a member of the ruling party, you get all the business. I will vote for the opposition," he said.

At the other end of the social scale, on a busy junction of Jelutong Road which is home to many low-income Chinese, 40-year-old newspaper vendor Goh Hock Chuan said he would also vote for the opposition on Saturday.

"Life is tough. The cost of living is going up and crime is rampant. Politicians are just filling their pockets instead of taking care of the welfare of the people," said Goh.

"The government is saying the economy is doing well. But many of my friends have lost their jobs as the factories they work at have shifted elsewhere," he said.

BN has a formidable election machine and pollsters say that despite a range of negative factors, on ballot day voters may be reluctant to abandon the government that has been in power for half a century.

"It is hard to predict the outcome. Right now it is very hot," said James Chin, a political science professor at Monash University in Kuala Lumpur.

- AFP