Several veterans axed, with six councillors among eight new faces Penang DAP is fielding for GE14.
Among the notable names dropped include incumbents Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik, Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, Tanjong Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Lau Keng Eei and Bagan Dalam assemblyman A Tanasekharan.
The six councillors are Penang Island City Council’s Ong Ah Teong, 48, Joseph Ng Soon Siang, 39, Syerleena Abdul Rashid, 38, and Lee Chun Kit, 36, and Seberang Prai Municipal Council’s M Satees, 33, and H’ng Mooi Lye, 40. 
(1-8) Ong Ah Teong, Joseph Ng Soon Siang, Syerleena Abdul Rashid, Lee Chun Kit, M Satees, H’ng Mooi Lye, Heng Lee, Gooi Zi Sen.
Two other newbies are special officers for state excos namely Heng Lee Lee, 39, and Gooi Zi Sen, 31.
Heng, who is DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s personal assistant, will be fielded in Berapit.
The youngest in the lineup is Gooi who is replacing Pengkalan Kota incumbent Lau Keng Ee.
Gooi has nine years of experience, starting as an aide to Batu Lancang DAP incumbent Danny Law Heng Kiang before becoming a DAP headquarters staff.
“I also worked at the exco’s office where I learned the process of policy-making as a special assistant,” said Gooi.
He will be up against MCA’s Tanjong youth chief Lim Swee Bok, whose family perished in a fire which gutted their two-storey home.
He pledged to bring changes to Pengkalan Kota, which is a 90% Chinese dominated area, if elected.
Ong, who will stand in Batu Lancang, said his aim was to get a budget to alleviate traffic jams in Batu Lancang especially near the market.
Ng, who is the council’s Financial Management Committee alternate chairman, will contest the Air Itam seat, replacing Wong Hon Wai who is now going for the Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat.
Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow also named Syerleena as the Seri Delima candidate to replace RSN Rayer who has been moved to contest Ooi’s Jelutong parliamentary seat.
Syerleena, a graduate of Universiti Sains Malaysia in Fine Arts, was a steering committee member for the Network of Social Democracy in Asia and the national assistant publicity secretary of Wanita DAP.
Lee, who is fondly known as Chris, will contest the Pulau Tikus state seat while Satees is going for the Bagan Dalam seat.
“I hope to revitalise the whole of Butterworth if given a chance to serve the people and bring a change to the area,” Satees was quoted as saying.
Chow added that H’ng, a councillor since 2013, has been named the Jawi candidate as incumbent Soon Lip Chee is being fielded in Bagan Jermal.
As a candidate, H’ng said one of his objectives is to look into tackling the flood issues in the constituency.
As previously announced, incumbent Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari will move to Teh’s Tanjong Bungah state seat while Wong Hon Wai will take over the federal seat.
State DAP chief Chow will return to the Tanjong federal constituency to take Ng’s place plus defend his Padang Kota state seat.
Bagan Jermal incumbent and two-term exco leader Lim Hock Seng, who will not be fielded, will be replaced by Seberang Prai Municipal council member Soon Lip Chee.
Despite speculation that she will also be dropped, Chow announced today that incumbent Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto will defend her seat.
Guan Eng will keep both Bagan and the Air Putih state seat.
Three others from the old assembly had previously withdrawn from the party line-up: Lydia Ong Kok Fooi (Berapit) who retired from politics, Yap Soo Huey (Pulau Tikus) who has gone to pursue a master’s degree, and Teh Yee Cheu (Tanjung Bungah) who resigned from the party.
Teh is to contest in the Sungai Pinang state seat on a Parti Sosialis Malaysia ticket.
DAP will contest in 19 out of the 40 state seats and seven of the 13 parliamentary seats.
The list of candidates for parliament and state seats:
Candidates for Parliamentary seats (1-7) Lim Guan Eng, Sim Chee Keong, P Kasthuri, Wong Hon Wai, Chow Kon Yeow, RSN Rayer, Ramkarpal Singh.
Parliament
Bagan – Lim Guan Eng
State seats
- Sungai Puyu – Phee Boon Poh
- Bagan Jermal – Soon Lip Chee
- Bagan Dalam – M Satees
Parliament
Bukit Mertajam – Sim Chee Keong
State seats
- Berapit-Heng Lee Lee
- Padang Lalang – Chong Eng
Parliament
Batu Kawan – P Kasthuri
State seats
- Prai – Prof P Ramasamy
- Jawi – H’ng Mooi Lye
Parliament
Bukit Bendera – Wong Hon Wai
State seats
- Tanjong Bungah – Zairil Khir Johari
- Air Putih – Lim Guan Eng
- Pulau Tikus – Chris Lee Chun Kit
Parliament
Tanjong – Chow Kon Yeow
State seats
- Padang Kota – Chow Kon Yeow
- Pengkalan Kota – Daniel Gooi Zi Sen
- Komtar – Teh Lai Heng
Parliament
Jelutong – RSN Rayer
State seats
- Datuk Keramat – Jagdeep Singh Deo
- Sungai Pinang – Lim Siew Khim
- Batu Lanchang – Ong Ah Teong
Parliament
Bukit Gelugor – Ramkarpal Singh
State seats
- Seri Delima – Syerleena Abd Rashid
- Air Itam – Joseph Ng Soon Siang
- Paya Terubong – Yeoh Soon Hin