Two blocks of flats in Bukit Gelugor have been lying unused for the last five years, when they could have been converted into housing for low-income groups.

penang flat 060308 05 DAP Seri Delima state seat candidate RS Nethaji Rayer said the 60 units in Taman Tun Sardon had been used by police personnel, who have since been relocated to new quarters.

Nethaji Rayer, a lawyer, said he had made the proposal to the state housing authority two years ago, taking a swipe at the Gerakan-led government and incumbent state assemblyperson Koay Kar Huah for not having done anything about it.

Nethaji Rayer, 36, will face MCA national Youth vice-chairperson Loh Nam Hooi, 47, in the polls on Saturday.

“I am telling constituents that it is important to have an opposition state assemblyperson for checks and balances in legislative assembly,” he said in reference to his campaign theme.

He is wary, however, about the tendency among Chinese to split votes - they make up 64.6 percent of the 20,093 voters, with Malays making up 25 percent and Indians 9.7 percent. Instead, he is relying on a swing from the 2,000 Indian voters to him and the DAP.

penang dap economy campaign 260208 bn candidate seri delima loh nam hooi Loh, meanwhile, has been encouraged by the support he has received on the campaign trail and said he is “confident of a victory”.

His manifesto pledges the establishment of several service centres, improvement of public health and schools, and the setting-up of a police beat-base in view of the rising crime rate.

While he also promises to speak against any form of discrimination, Nethaji Rayer questioned his ability to so “when he belongs to BN”.

An urban seat, Seri Delima was carved out of the former Bukit Gelugor and Batu Uban state constituencies in the 2002 delineation exercise.

Koay, the Bukit Gelugor state assemblyperson from 1995-1999, had won the seat with a majority of 4,920 votes in 2004, over DAP's Tan Hun Wooi.

His track-record has proved useful for Loh.