The contest in Penang during the next general election is expected to be "keen and tough", said a senior leader from the ruling Gerakan party in the island state.

State executive councillor in charge of education, economic planning and human resource development, D r Toh Kin Woon ( left ) said voters there are known to be capable of mood swings that can make any electoral outcome unpredictable.

Up for grabs in Penang are 40 state seats and 13 parliamentary seats, all of which are expected to be hotly contested. These include the seven new state seats and two new parliamentary seats created by the Election Commission in its recent redelineation exercise.

While the redelineation exercise and the easy access to development funds in BN-held constituencies will work in the ruling coalition's favour, Toh said there are however a number of problems.

"Intra-party squabbles (remnants of MCA Team A versus Team B struggles for the largesse of political office) and inter-party conflict between Gerakan and MCA are among these problems," he wrote in the latest issue of the monthly magazine Aliran