ANALYSIS Christmas must have come early for Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng this year, when the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled its 1MDB-linked corruption clampdown.

Grabbing at the news like a freshly unwrapped toy gun, the embattled state leader eagerly aimed his new weapon at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and went: “Bang! Now it’s your turn to do snap elections!” (Writer's note: Not an actual quote)

It was a much-needed ammo for Lim, who has been under fire for mulling snap state polls amid his double corruption charges.

But in this holier than thou battle to prove who is corrupt and who is not, will the DOJ’s damning lawsuit actually give the DAP secretary-general an edge?

In the event of snap polls in Penang, analysts say yes, it will give him an edge.

“Potentially he could... DAP has a very defensible Chinese support base so the DAP may be able to do well,” Merdeka Center chief Ibrahim Suffian told Malaysiakini.

Ideas chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan however indicated that Lim may not need the DOJ findings, as “DAP is quite strong in Penang anyway.”

However, for Ibrahim, the other cowboys in Lim’s team may not fare so well if the snap polls are called before Amanah and PKR can fully load their guns.

“DAP’s Malay allies PKR and Amanah may not be so ready in time.

“They are currently all over the place... they may not be able to fully capitalise on the DOJ’s findings,” the independent pollster said.

Wan Saiful was more optimistic about the PKR and Amanah’s chances.

“If they can properly exploit the DOJ issue the may be able to benefit from an increase in Malay support.”

He said if they can do this, they can mitigate any loss of support that might stem from the problems they currently face.

Latest addition to ‘The Hopeful Bunch’

Meanwhile if the political gunfight spills out beyond Penang’s borders and becomes a national shootout, the one who can really make use of the DOJ’s findings is the latest addition to ‘The Hopeful Bunch’, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his new gang.

“If Mahathir’s new party can be formed early enough (before snap general elections) the opposition can capitalise on it by offering Umno supporters an alternative that doesn’t require them to vote for either Amanah, PKR or DAP,” Wan Saiful said.

This, he said, is because some Umno supporters are only angry at Najib, but not the party.

Both Lim and Najib have been accused of corruption albeit on different levels.

Lim is accused of abusing his position to approve land rezoning for businesswoman Phang Li Koon whom he later bought his bungalow from, allegedly at below market price.

Najib meanwhile is accused of having received huge sums of misappropriated 1MDB funds.

Both men deny the accusations leveled against them, and have resisted urgings to step down.

Lim is currently awaiting trial, while Najib has been cleared of any wrongdoing by attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali.