KUALA LUMPUR – Penang Muda candidate Priyankaa Loh has expressed confidence in unseating PH from the Pantai Jerejak seat in the upcoming state polls.
Speaking to Scoop, Loh said that while everyone is a worthy candidate, her diverse and colourful upbringing gives her the upper hand.
“Without a doubt, I will match their (candidates’) potential as I was one of the founding committee of Penang Muda, and have been doing a lot of groundwork for Penangites.
“On surpassing (their performance), I do have the advantage of being local at Pantai Jerejak. I live and breathe daily life as a resident and will be able to empathise with their struggles.
“I have seen what’s done right or could be done better in Pantai Jerejak first hand, and not from a third party perspective,” she said.
Loh is expected to be part of a three-cornered fight for the state seat, against former PKR youth chief Fahmi Zainol and Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong.
Despite being a first-time candidate, Loh also pulled no punches in pointing out that she could be a better assemblyman than her predecessor, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
This followed the locals’ lamentations that Saifuddin was often absent in Pantai Jerejak during his tenure, she said.
“They (PH) have done a lot (for the state constituency). The only thing is that we receive feedback from locals that they have never seen the (then) incumbent PH assemblyman over there,”
“I can live up to what he is doing, (and) I can do better,” she added.
As an assemblyman, Loh aims to organise physical and online tuition sessions for students in Penang, especially those from impoverished backgrounds, and alleviate traffic congestion in the state.
She added that her determination for her inaugural candidacy remains unwavering, despite being in what she describes as a “David and Goliath” battle.
“We are fighting against a giant (PH) that has more resources and manpower, but in the end, David still won,” she said.
Regarding Muda contesting independently, Loh believed it could foster healthy competition between the party and other rival coalitions, instead of inciting further hard feelings with each other.
Pantai Jerejak has been a PKR stronghold for several terms since Sim Tze Tzin’s victory against Gerakan’s Wong Mun Hoe in 2008.
During the previous state elections in 2018, Saifuddin secured the Pantai Jerejak seat comfortably by garnering 14,014 votes, against a paltry 3,298 votes by Barisan Nasional. – July 28, 2023