Political secretary to Guan Eng to contest Bukit Bendera seat (Updated)

GEORGE TOWN: DAP sprang a major surprise by fielding incumbent Air Itam assemblyman Wong Hon Wai to contest the Bukit Bendera parliamentary constituency, with incumbent Zairil Khir Johari moving over to contest the Tanjung Bungah state seat.
Wong, who is the political secretary to caretaker Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, was previously a two-term assemblyman in Air Itam.
Guan Eng will remain in his Air Putih state seat while Penang DAP Youth deputy head Chris Lee Chun Kit will contest the Pulau Tikus state seat.
Both Zairil and Lee were schoolmates at the St Xavier's Institution school here.
State DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow made the announcement at the DAP Bukit Bendera service centre in Tanjung Tokong today.
The seat in Bukit Bendera would be among the most watched in the 14th general election because over recent discontentment.
Firstly, Tanjung Bungah incumbent Teh Yee Cheu quit DAP following disagreements over his suggestions for term limits for the chief minister and his vocal criticism on development that he felt was harmful to the environment in Penang.
Meanwhile, the incumbent for Pulau Tikus, Yap Soo Huey opted to quit politics to focus on her studies.
Natural disaster then wreaked havoc in the state, first a landslide in Tanjung Bungah in October 2017, and then the Nov 4, 2017 floods which almost submerged the whole state.
The landslide in Tanjung Bungah claimed the lives of 11, including that of one Malaysian.