Even if BN wins, next Penang CM will not be from Umno: Najib

GEORGE TOWN: Caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today gave assurance that if Barisan Nasional (BN) managed to wrest back the state in the 14th General Election (GE14), the next Chief Minister of Penang will be selected from among the leaders of a BN component party other than Umno.
He said this was because BN would stick to its power-sharing principle and would continue to upheld the concept in Penang.
"If we get the people's mandate in Penang, the next chief minister is not going to be from Umno, but from a component party of BN ... because we want to be fair," he said at the People's Feast event at SMK Teluk Kumbar here tonight.
Najib also expressed confidence that there would be a change in favour of BN in Penang as the Penangites had suffered a lot of problems over the past two terms under the opposition-led state government.
"I can conclude that maybe after 10 years, the voters are now able to evaluate the performance of the opposition-led government in Penang ... whether all the promises fulfilled or the people problems are just getting worse day by day," he said.
Najib, who is also BN chairman, said what was obvious in Penang after 10 years of DAP administration was the worsening flood woes as flash floods were recorded to have occurred 120 times between 2013 and 2017.
Besides, he said the people had been lamenting over difficulties in buying houses as more and more luxury houses were built in the state rather than affordable houses for the people.
"InsyaAllah, when we get the mandate, we will build 65,000 units of affordable houses in Penang over the next five years," he said.
The caretaker prime minister also gave assurance that the land reclamation projects in Balik Pulau would be scrapped if BN received the people's mandate in Penang as the federal government had never agreed to such projects.
"The federal government did not have to undertake land reclamation projects for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) or the High Speed Rail (HSR) project. So, if you are against land reclamation, give your mandate to BN," he said.
At the event, Najib also launched the village road lighting installation project under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB). — Bernama