KUALA LUMPUR – Former Seberang Perai councillor David Marshel’s campaign as an independent candidate in the coming Penang state election will focus on “saving” the state from DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng.
In a press conference today, Marshel, who quit DAP yesterday after 15 years in the party, said that his decision to contest for the Perai state seat also aims to provide “necessary” support to caretaker chief minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“I love this party, but I don’t love any of its leaders, especially (Lim) because he does not respect us grassroot members. Whenever he talks, his words are sweet, but I know his heart is rotten.
“I am contesting as an independent candidate not for my own self-interest, but to save Penang from (Lim) and for the sake of supporting (Chow’s) leadership as chief minister,” a visibly emotional Marshel said.
Asserting that Lim and those aligned with him have orchestrated the party’s candidate list to allow for a “takeover” of the state by the former, Marshel said that his campaign will not be targeting rivals from other parties or coalitions.
“Even if (Chow) shows up in Perai to campaign for DAP’s candidate (EcoWorld Development Group deputy chief executive officer Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo) and scolds me, I don’t care.
“I don’t want to use my campaign platform to criticise Perikatan Nasional’s candidate. I will use my campaign to target (Lim). I will expose how he doesn’t like me as I have questioned him (during his tenure as chief minister),” he added.
Claiming that Lim will be setting his sights on the Penang DAP chief post when the state chapter has its party elections sometime next year, Marshel said that Lim will move to table a motion in the state assembly to amend the term limit for the chief ministership from two to four terms.
Since Lim has already served as the state’s chief minister for two terms from 2008 to 2018, the amendment will allow the Bagan MP to resume the post for another term.
Besides that, Marshel, who is known to be close with incumbent three-term Perai assembly and caretaker deputy chief minister P. Ramasamy, dismissed claims that the numerous police reports filed against him were the reason why DAP had not fielded him as a candidate.
“I am an activist, I speak out on issues that affect the people. Don’t use this (police reports) as an excuse, I am not like (Lim) who (is facing) many corruption cases” he said, believed to be referring to Lim’s RM2 million corruption trial relating to the Penang undersea tunnel project.
Yesterday, DAP’s Bagan Dalam incumbent M.Satees lashed out after being dropped from the candidate line-up, warning that the state is in danger of being controlled by an “emperor”. – July 27, 2023
