GEORGETOWN: Padang Kota assemblyman Chow Kon Yeow has been named as the state's Chief Minister.
This was announced by Pakatan Harapan (PH) Penang chairman and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng at a press conference held at Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar), here, today.
Commenting on the appointment, Chow thanked Lim's leadership for trusting him to hold the position of Penang's fifth Chief Minister.
Chow who is also Tanjong MP also expressed his gratitude to the voters in Penang for continuing to trust PH to helm the state government.
He expressed hope that the Finance Minister's promise that Penang will always be close to him will be realised, apart from hoping for a close relationship with the Federal Government, specifically the Finance Ministry.
"We also hope for more allocation to ensure the success of projects already in the pipeline, including the Sungai Pinang Flood Mitigation Project," he said.
Meanwhile, he said the state government's lineup, including the posts of deputy ministers and state executive councillors will be announced later.
All of them are also expected to be sworn in on Wednesday in front of Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas.
Chow who is Penang DAP chairman retained Padang Kota for the third time, defeating BN's H'ng Khoon Leng with a 7,808 vote-majority in the recently concluded 14th General Election (GE14).
Asked if his administration is prepared to scrap the coastal reclamation project to fund the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), Chow said the state government was looking at numerous alternatives.
“We will review the funding given by the Federal government for the implementation of the PTMP.
“It is still too early for us to decide on anything. We need to discuss further,” he said.
Earlier, Lim announced that he would not be the chief minister for the third term, and thanked everyone for their cooperation throughout since 2008.
“I also apologised if I have made any mistakes in the last two terms.
“I am reluctant to leave Penang but I have a bigger mission to accomplish.
“I am confident that the new leadership will be able to perform excellently.” he said.