Penang chief minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon today cautioned Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates in the state not to be complacent for the coming polls as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's 'feel good' factor may not work with the local people.

He says that local voters will go for the quality, services and performance of their candidates first rather than a federal leader's charisma or the country's policies.

"Even though we adore the capability of the premier and know that Pak Lah's factor has created a very positive mood we cannot be complacent as it may not work with the people here," Koh told reporters after opening a 'Caring Society' office in Penang.

The office is a social community project initiated by Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye at the Bukit Bendera parliamentary constituency where he is the incumbent. Chia and several other Gerakan leaders were present at the opening.

"We have to be very careful, we can't take things for granted otherwise we will lose. We must continue with our work," Koh, who is Gerakan vice-president, adds.

Commenting on the three-cornered fights for five seats in Penang, Koh says it may harm BN chances but could also be a plus factor for the ruling coalition.

"If the votes are split among the opposition, that it will be good for us," he says, adding that BN candidates have been told not to character assassinate their opponents.

Out of the five seats which will see three-cornered fights in Penang, three - the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat and the Sungai Pinang and Bukit Tambun state seats - involve Gerakan candidates while the remaining two have MCA and MIC candidates.

Report card

Later in the afternoon, Koh launched the 'Penang Progress Report Card for 1999-2004' at the Penang BN headquarters. Present was state BN secretary Khalid Ahmad.

"The report card will give Penang voters an idea of what has been achieved by the state government over the past four and a half years," he told a press conference.

He rates the state government's performance at A minus saying that seventy-five percent of the promises made by the state BN government led by him since the last elections had been fulfilled.

Koh dismissed suggestions that the 'report card' prepared by the state government was one-sided saying it was compiled based on facts and figures. The 24-page booklet will be distributed free to voters.

Among the highlights of the report is the Penang state government's achievement in completing the first phase of the Jelutong highway by mid-2003 and the 60 percent completion of the Butterworth Outer Ring Road.

It also quoted a survey by the Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute which found Penang to have one of the highest quality of life indexes in the country.