Penang govt reshuffles as Guan Eng moves on to the federal level

BUTTERWORTH: Penang is set to have a new chief minister following the announcement that Lim Guan Eng will serve as finance minister in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's new cabinet line-up.
The DAP secretary-general's appointment to a federal post will likely see the appointment of Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow as the new chief minister.
Lim had previously said that Chow was his anointed successor to lead the state government.
The swearing-in of the new chief minister is scheduled to take place on Monday before Yang Di-Pertua Negri Tun Dr Abdul Rahman Abbas.
Meanwhile, speculation continues on who should be the Deputy Chief Minister I, a post traditionally allotted to PKR, the second senior Pakatan Harapan (PH) component party in Penang.
Earlier, the name of Batu Maung assemblyman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussein was proposed for the post.
However, the Permatang Pauh PKR division Youth wing has now proposed Seberang Jaya assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin for the post.
Its Youth division head, Mohd Sharmizan Mohamad Noor, said Afif represents the younger generation.
He said a huge number of younger voters were a decisive factor in the election.
Afif, who served as exco in the previous administration, is the two-term Seberang Jaya assemblyman.
The post of deputy chief minister II is likely to be filled once again by two-term incumbent Dr P. Ramasamy.
There is speculation that Bukit Tengah assemblyman Gooi Hsia Leung may be in the running to be nominated as state speaker, replacing Datuk Law Choo Kiang, who did not contest in this election.