Kopitiam talk: Can still wear short skirt, buy 4D and eat sio bak (roast pork) if PN rules Penang?

Kopitiam talk: Can still wear short skirt, buy 4D and eat sio bak (roast pork) if PN rules Penang?

THE above has become staple topic of discussion among Penangites at coffee shops at the six state elections draw closer.

Even as the chances for Perikatan Nasional (PN) to wrest control of Penang – the only state which boasts a non-Malay Chief Minister – from DAP is slim, Penangites have for discussion sake wondered if Gerakan is able to champion the interest (including religious and lifestyle freedom) of the non-Malasy in the event that the ultra-Malay/Muslim coalition is voted into power.

This comes about as Penang Gerakan Youth information chief Andrew Ooi told a Malaysiakini-hosted forum in Penang last night (Aug 3) that PAS will not move to ban gambling or restrict sale of alcohol in the state if the opposition PN does topple DAP to win Penang in the Aug 12’s state poll.

“I can assure everyone here that as long as Gerakan is in PN, there is no banning of gambling or banning of alcohol here,” guaranteed Ooi who himself is contesting the Paya Terubong candidate.

“People say if green wave comes (to Penang) they (PAS) will ban gambling, ban alcohol, ban everything. (But) this is no longer (about) the green wave. This is the will of (all) the people. The people want to change, a change that can make our nation great again.”

But Ooi’s assurance has not much impact on Penangites with netizen GreenKoala4364 challenging Gerakan “to tell PAS to re-open lottery outlets in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis”.

“Then you may have some credibility. If not, you are either day-dreaming or straight lying,” the netizen commented in Malaysiakini.

Netizen Rumfanms cautioned that Gerakan will not have the final say “if in the most remote scenario, PN forms the government”.

“No way Hadi will allow Gerakan to do its own bidding. It is (PAS president Tan Sri) Hadi Awang and (Bersatu president Tan Sri) Muhyiddin Yassin who are going to call the shot. So don’t try to hoodwink Penangites just for your lust to gain power and positions,” warned Rumfanms.

“Even your president got snubbed by PAS junior party members. You are just nobody in Gerakan. So, get real!”

Taking a leaf from how PAS treated Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai recently at a PAS ceramah recently, netizen Doc reckoned that “this is the same way they treat non-Malays in this country – with contempt and pure racism”.

“They govern the states they rule badly by destroying the economic and installing their so call brand of Islam. Once the state’s economy is decimated due to PAS’ legendary brand of stupidity, they will blame the non-Muslims and their lifestyle for destroying their state’s economy,” cautioned Doc.

“This is their modus operandi in Treggannu and Kelantan and now we have seen the same in Kedah. If Andrew Ooi is trying to con the non-Malays into voting for PN the same way PAS is conning the Malays to vote for PN, I don’t think these empty promises are going to work on the non-Malays.” – Aug 4, 2023