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PENANG – insists he will not be a “lame duck” despite standing down as chairman of the Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) Penang chapter, after his administration was criticised by his predecessor and party veteran Lim Guan Eng. “I don’t think it’s a matter of (being a) lame duck. I will continue to push the government machinery (to work),” he told The Straits Times. He would, however, be rendered ineffective “if the party blocks me from pushing the Penang2030 vision,” he said. He noted, however, that he would toe the party line if it had good reasons to drop his plans for Penang to become a developed state by 2030. Mr Chow dropped a shocker on Sept 4 when he called an ad hoc press conference to announce that he would not contest the Sept 22 party elections, which are held every three years. He has been DAP Penang chairman for 25 years. DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said in a statement hours later: “Chow’s decision won’t affect the Penang administration, as he will hold (the) Penang chief minister (post) until the term ends.” Till then, Mr Chow, 65, will continue pushing his plans, which include better digital services, boosting the Happiness in Penang index, and improving the state’s liveability, economy and civic participation. Mr Chow became Penang’s chief minister in 2018, replacing Mr Lim, who went on to serve as Malaysia’s finance minister. Mr Chow was reappointed after the state election in 2023, and can serve until the next state polls due in August 2028. There has been bad blood between the two men, purportedly since mid-2023. Mr Chow alleged that there was a plot to remove him as chief minister, which Mr Lim dismissed as “wild speculation”. They have also butted heads over controversies such as a 226ha land deal by a state agency that was called off in October 2023, and a water tariff hike in June 2024. An inside joke in the DAP is that the party occupies both the seat of the chief minister, held by Mr Chow, and that of the opposition, led by Mr Lim. Under Mr Chow’s leadership, Pakatan Harapan (PH) – the federal ruling coalition that DAP belongs to – again emerged victor in the 2023 Penang state election, albeit with a slimmer majority. It lost eight seats to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition alliance, giving it 29 of the 40 state assembly seats, from 37 seats previously. Mr Lim, who is also an MP and assemblyman in Penang, does not hold an executive position in the Penang administration but remains influential in the party as DAP national chairman. The former chief minister has continued to publicly criticise his successor over alleged missed opportunities for investment and being slow in moving Penang’s thriving semiconductor industry up the value chain, from manufacturing to design. The tussle in Penang is closely watched as its state assembly is only one of three led by a chief minister, or menteri besar, from PH. The other two PH-led states are Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. Three DAP Penang grassroots leaders told ST that while they respect Mr Chow’s contributions, his mild-mannered ways may not be enough to counter the aggressive tactics of opposition PN, led by Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and Malay nationalist Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. “Yes. Chow is a mild man (who is) acceptable to all. But facing the ‘green wave’ onslaught, we need a ‘bad cop’ who can be a strong figure to hit back,” a party leader told ST on condition of anonymity, as the issue is sensitive within the party.  The green wave refers to growing influence of the conservative PN coalition, seen from its electoral success in the 2022 general election and the 2023 polls involving six Malaysian states. PN has a stronghold in the rural east and north of Peninsular Malaysia, where it helms the state governments in Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah. Additionally, the Penang state government is facing off with a PAS firebrand leader, Kedah Menteri Besar Sanusi Md Nor. He has questioned Penang’s sovereignty as a state and pushed for Kedah to reclaim its southern neighbour, and has even threatened to sue the Chow administration over the sharing of water from a major river in Kedah.  “As the front-liner of industrialisation in northern Malaysia, Penang is proud of the ‘strongman’ character of chief ministers such as Lim Chong Eu and Lim Guan Eng,” opined Mr Phoon Wing Keong, head of the Huayan Policy Institute, the centre for Chinese Malaysian studies. “A mild and weak character does not fit the expectation of the only Chinese chief minister in Malaysia,” he told ST. Penang DAP grassroots leader Rachael Tan said Mr Lim and Mr Chow have different styles, yet both delivered results. “Guan Eng was outspoken and commanding, while Chow was more diplomatic and collective. Both delivered results in their own way, so it is hard to describe who is better when they have both strengths and weaknesses in their own way,” she told ST. According to the grapevine, topping the list of aspirants for Penang’s next state DAP chairman, and possibly the chief minister’s post, is a member of the DAP’s Lim clan: Ms Lim Hui Ying, 61. She is the younger sister of Mr Lim Guan Eng. Ms Lim is currently Malaysia’s deputy finance minister. Another aspiring candidate is Mr Steven Sim, 42, the Penang DAP vice-chief and Malaysia’s human resources minister. Mr Chow refused to be drawn into who should succeed him. He suggested, however, that the next chief minister and DAP state chief should have an equal mix of his accommodative approach and Mr Lim Guan Eng’s outspoken style. “As the opposition, we did a lot of shouting. But if you are in government, it’s time for you to act and deliver.”