2023 Penang state election

Last updated
2023 Penang state election
Flag of Penang (Malaysia).svg
  2018
12 August 2023
2028 

All 40 seats in the Penang State Legislative Assembly
21 seats needed for a majority
Registered1,234,198 (Increase2.svg 30.52%)
Turnout72.67% (Decrease2.svg 11.95pp)
 Majority partyMinority party
  Chow Kon Yeow 2019.jpg Dominic Lau Potrait (cropped, 3to4 portrait).jpg
Leader Chow Kon Yeow
Musa Sheikh Fadzir
Dominic Lau Hoe Chai
Party DAP
UMNO
GERAKAN
Alliance Pakatan Harapan
Barisan Nasional

Parties
Perikatan Nasional

Leader since21 May 2019
16 July 2018
12 June 2022
Leader's seatChow: Padang Kota
Musa: Did not stand
Stood in Bayan Lepas (defeated)
Last election37 seats, 82.00% [na 1] 3 seats, 17.34% [nb 1]
Seats before351
Seats won2911
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 6Increase2.svg 10
Popular vote583,126290,514
Percentage66.16%32.96%
SwingDecrease2.svg 15.84%Increase2.svg 15.62%

Penang state election results map, 2023.svg

Chief Minister of Penang before election

Chow Kon Yeow
PH (DAP)

Chief Minister of Penang after election

Chow Kon Yeow
PH (DAP)

The 15th Penang state election was held on 12 August 2023 to elect the State Assembly members of the 15th Penang State Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang.

Contents

Penang is one of the states which did not dissolve simultaneously with Dewan Rakyat on 10 October 2022. It was decided by Pakatan Harapan on 15 October 2022. [1]

The Barisan Nasional (BN) – Pakatan Harapan (PH) electoral pact won 29 of 40 seats, with PH winning a standalone majority of 27 seats and BN winning 2 seats. The Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition won the remaining 11 seats to become the main opposition in the state assembly.

Background

Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan + Barisan Nasional is the main coalition in this state election, photo taken at Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth Bagan Jermal & Sungai Puyu - Jala Raja Uda - 2023 Penang state election.jpg
Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan + Barisan Nasional is the main coalition in this state election, photo taken at Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth
Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway Sungai Pinang intersection during campaign period Sungai Pinang - LCE highway - 2023 Penang state election (cropped).jpg
Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway Sungai Pinang intersection during campaign period

In the 2018 general election, Pakatan Harapan won the state of Penang, winning 37 out of the 40 state seats. Despite the Sheraton Move occurring in the beginning of 2020, the various changes during the 2020 - 2022 Malaysian political crisis did not affect the politics at the state level, allowing the Pakatan Harapan state government to continue to govern.

On 6 August 2020, the Chief Minister of Penang, Chow Kon Yeow, reiterated his stance that all states that have a Pakatan Harapan government, including Penang, would not dissolve the state assemblies in order to coincide with a snap general election. This was because at the time, the Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan state governments had a stable majority. The Pakatan Harapan leadership further emphasised that there would not be a dissolution of assembly in 2021 and 2022, citing various factors, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the need for the state governments to complete a full term, and the possibility of various factors which might inconvenience people should the state elections be called at the wrong time, such as floods, ahead of the 2022 Malaysian general election. [2]

On 10 October 2022, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved Parliament, resulting in a snap general election being held in Malaysia on 19 November 2022. Traditionally, every state in Malaysia except Sarawak would hold their state elections concurrently with the general election for the sake of convenience, but since 2020, several Malaysian states held state elections separately from the general election, with Sabah on 26 September 2020, Malacca on 20 November 2021, Sarawak on 18 December 2021 and Johor on 12 March 2022. With the exception of Perlis, Perak and Pahang holding state elections during the 2022 Malaysian general election, all other states, including Penang, will hold their state elections in 2023.

Constituencies

All 40 constituencies within Penang, which constitute the Penang State Legislative Assembly, were contested during the election.

DUN P Pinang 2020.svg
Electoral map of Penang. showing all 40 constituencies
Penang general election results map by state constituency, 2022.svg
Breakdown of 2022 Malaysian general election result by state constituency in 2022, where PH in   Red, PN in   Blue-green and BN in   blue

Composition before dissolution

GovernmentConfidence and supplyOpposition
PHBNPN
3321
1912221
DAPPKRAMANAHUMNOPAS

Timeline

The key dates are listed below.

DateEvent
15 October 2022Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council decided against dissolving the 14th Penang State Legislative Assembly.
28 June 2023Dissolution of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. [3]
5 July 2023Issue of the Writ of Election
29 July 2023Nomination Day
29 July–11 August 2023Campaigning Period
8–11 August 2023Early Polling Day For Postal, Overseas and Advance Voters
12 August 2023Polling Day

Retiring incumbent

The following members of the 14th State Legislative Assembly do not contest this election.

No.State ConstituencyDeparting MLACoalition (Party)Date confirmedFirst electedReason
N06 Telok Ayer Tawar Mustafa Kamal AhmadPH (PKR)18 July 20232018Not seeking re-election. [4]
N36 Pantai Jerejak Saifuddin Nasution Ismail Not contesting state election. [5] (Senator)
N3 Pinang Tunggal Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman 22 July 2023Dropped by party.
N12 Penanti Norlela Ariffin 2013
N20 Sungai Bakap Amar Pritpal Abdullah 2018
N24 Kebun Bunga Jason Ong Khan Lee 2008
N37 Batu Maung Abdul Halim Hussain 2018
N7 Sungai Puyu Phee Boon Poh PH (DAP)25 July 20231990Dropped by party.
N8 Bagan Jermal Soon Lip Chee 2013
N15 Padang Lalang Chong Eng 1995
N16 Perai Ramasamy Palanisamy 2008
N34 Paya Terubong Yeoh Soon Hin
N32 Seri Delima Syerleena Abdul Rashid 2018Not contesting state election (MP for Bukit Bendera).
N25 Pulau Tikus Chris Lee Chun Kit Not contesting state election. [6]
N5 Sungai Dua Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Noor BN (UMNO)21 July 20232013Dropped by party.
N10 Seberang Jaya Afif Bahardin PN (BERSATU)6 March 20232013Transferred to Taman Medan (Selangor).
N40 Telok Bahang Zolkifly Mohd Lazim 2018Dropped by party.

Electoral candidates

Names in bold are the confirmed winners in the 2023 state election.

No.Parliamentary ConstituencyNo.State ConstituencyVotersIncumbent State AssemblymenCoalition (Party)Political coalitions and parties
Barisan Nasional + Pakatan Harapan [7] [8] [9] [10] Logo Perikatan Nasional.svg

Perikatan Nasional [11]

Malaysian United Democratic Alliance election symbol.svg Socialist Party of Malaysia Logo.svg

MUDA + PSM electoral pact [12] [13]

Other parties/Independents [14]
Candidate namePartyCandidate namePartyCandidate namePartyCandidate namePartyCandidate nameParty
P041 Kepala Batas N01 Penaga 25,468 Mohd Yusni Mat Piah PN (PAS) Mohd Naim Salleh UMNO Mohd Yusni Mat Piah PAS
N02 Bertam 23,999Vacant [nc 1] [15] Reezal Merican Naina Merican UMNO Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq BERSATU
N03 Pinang Tunggal 34,723 Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman PH (PKR) Zainuddin Mohamad PKR Bukhori Ghazali PAS
P042 Tasek Gelugor N04 Permatang Berangan 28,519Nor Hafizah OthmanBN (UMNO)Nor Hafizah OthmanUMNOMohamad Sobri SalehPAS
N05 Sungai Dua 28,100 Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Noor BN (UMNO)Shaik Hussein MydinUMNO Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff PAS
N06 Telok Ayer Tawar 24,784 Mustafa Kamal Ahmad PH (PKR)Mohsein Md ShariffPKR Azmi Alang BERSATU
P043 Bagan N07 Sungai Puyu 35,904 Phee Boon Poh PH (DAP) Phee Syn Tze DAPAndrew Teow Chin SiangPAS
N08 Bagan Jermal 32,529 Soon Lip Chee PH (DAP) Chee Yeeh Keen DAPOng Chuan JinBERSATU
N09 Bagan Dalam 21,221 Satees Muniandy PH (DAP) Kumaran Krishnan DAPJayaraman Kunchu KannuPASS. RajasakananPFPSatees Muniandy [16] IND
P044 Permatang Pauh N10 Seberang Jaya 49,215Vacant [nc 2] [15] Johari KassimPKR Izhar Shah Arif Shah BERSATU
N11 Permatang Pasir 30,464 Muhammad Faiz Fadzil PH (AMANAH) Muhammad Faiz Fadzil AMANAH Amir Hamzah Abdul Hashim PAS
N12 Penanti 28,170 Norlela Ariffin PH (PKR)Rohsidi HussainPKR Zulkifli Bakar BERSATU
P045 Bukit Mertajam N13 Berapit 29,076 Heng Lee Lee PH (DAP) Heng Lee Lee DAPLee Kok KeongGERAKAN
N14 Machang Bubok 56,538 Lee Khai Loon PH (PKR) Lee Khai Loon PKRTan Hum WeiGERAKAN
N15 Padang Lalang 36,001 Chong Eng PH (DAP) Gooi Zi Sen DAPSuresh Devaraj NaiduBERSATUOoi Khar GiapPFP
P046 Batu Kawan N16 Perai 20,479 Ramasamy Palanisamy PH (DAP) Sundarajoo Somu DAPSivasuntaram RajalinggamGERAKANVikneswary HarikrishnanMUDADavid Marshel [17] IND
N17 Bukit Tengah 31,635 Gooi Hsiao Leung PH (PKR) Gooi Hsiao Leung PKR Baljit Singh Jigiri Singh GERAKAN
N18 Bukit Tambun 37,496 Goh Choon Aik PH (PKR) Goh Choon Aik PKRTan Gia WeiGERAKANSomuganathan MuniandyIND
P047 Nibong Tebal N19 Jawi 36,601 H’ng Mooi Lye PH (DAP) H’ng Mooi Lye DAPSteven Koh Tien YewPAS
N20 Sungai Bakap 38,409 Amar Pritpal Abdullah PH (PKR)Nurhidayah Che RusPKR Nor Zamri Latiff PAS
N21 Sungai Acheh 26,095Vacant [nc 3] [15] Rashidi Zinol UMNO Zulkifli Ibrahim BERSATU
P048 Bukit Bendera N22 Tanjong Bunga 29,477 Zairil Khir Johari PH (DAP) Zairil Khir Johari DAP Hng Chee Wey GERAKANLee Chui WahPRM
N23 Air Putih 15,371 Lim Guan Eng PH (DAP) Lim Guan Eng DAPKoh Cheng AnnGERAKANTeh Yee CheuPRM
N24 Kebun Bunga 24,532 Jason Ong Khan Lee PH (PKR) Lee Boon Heng PKRTan Zhen ZuneGERAKANRazalif Mohamad ZainIND
N25 Pulau Tikus 23,257 Chris Lee Chun Kit PH (DAP) Woo Sze Zeng DAPTang Ching SernGERAKANGoh Chuin LoonPRM
P049 Tanjong N26 Padang Kota 15,165 Chow Kon Yeow PH (DAP) Chow Kon Yeow DAPH'ng Khoon LengGERAKAN
N27 Pengkalan Kota 21,568 Gooi Zi Sen PH (DAP) Wong Yuee Harng DAPSuthakaran SubramaniamGERAKAN
N28 Komtar 15,532 Teh Lai Heng PH (DAP) Teh Lai Heng DAPCheah Kim HuatBERSATU
P050 Jelutong N29 Datok Keramat 26,791 Jagdeep Singh Deo PH (DAP) Jagdeep Singh Deo DAPHeng See LinGERAKAN
N30 Sungai Pinang 34,416 Lim Siew Khim PH (DAP) Lim Siew Khim DAPNg Fook OnGERAKANAbdul Ghani HaroonPRMAndrew RajahIND
N31 Batu Lancang 33,106 Ong Ah Teong PH (DAP) Ong Ah Teong DAPMohd Aswaad JaafarGERAKAN
P051 Bukit Gelugor N32 Seri Delima 31,574 Syerleena Abdul Rashid PH (DAP) Tan Hooi Peng DAPMohan ApparooBERSATU
N33 Air Itam 23,085 Joseph Ng Soon Seong PH (DAP) Joseph Ng Soon Seong DAPCheang Chee GooiGERAKAN
N34 Paya Terubong 62,734 Yeoh Soon Hin PH (DAP) Wong Hon Wai DAPOoi Ghee OonGERAKAN
P052 Bayan Baru N35 Batu Uban 43,529 Kumaresan Aramugam PH (PKR) Kumaresan Aramugam PKRMok Kok OnGERAKANLee Kim NoorMUDA
N36 Pantai Jerejak 29,890 Saifuddin Nasution Ismail PH (PKR) Fahmi Zainol PKR Oh Tong Keong GERAKANPriyankaa Loh Siang PinMUDARavinder SinghPRM
N37 Batu Maung 47,226 Abdul Halim Hussain PH (PKR) Mohamad Abdul Hamid PKRAzahari ArisBERSATU
P053 Balik Pulau N38 Bayan Lepas 39,754 Azrul Mahathir Aziz PH (AMANAH) Azrul Mahathir Aziz AMANAH Dominic Lau Hoe Chai GERAKAN
N39 Pulau Betong 23,838 Mohd Tuah Ismail PH (PKR) Mohd Tuah Ismail PKR Mohamad Shukor Zakariah PAS
N40 Telok Bahang 17,927Vacant [nc 4] [15] Ahmad Zaki Shah Shah Headan UMNO Muhamad Kasim BERSATU

Opinion polls

Polling firmDates conductedSample size PH+BN PN OthLeadRef
Ilham Centre29 July – 8 August 20232,30464%36%0%PH+BN +28% [18]

Results

Results of the August 2023 Penang state election, by party. DUN P Pinang 2023 by party.svg
Results of the August 2023 Penang state election, by party.
Party or allianceVotes%Seats+/–
Pakatan Harapan +
Barisan Nasional
Democratic Action Party 313,73135.26190
People's Justice Party 202,52222.767–7
United Malays National Organisation 49,4765.5620
National Trust Party 25,8802.911–1
Total591,60966.4829–8
Perikatan Nasional Malaysian Islamic Party 109,50812.317+6
Malaysian United Indigenous Party 96,00310.794+2
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia 85,0039.5500
Total290,51432.6511+8
Parti Rakyat Malaysia 1,8740.210New
MUDA + PSM Malaysian United Democratic Alliance 1,5280.170New
Penang Front Party 3330.0400
Independents3,9960.4500
Total889,854100.0040

By parliamentary constituency

PH+BN won 9 of 13 parliamentary constituency by average percentages.

No.ConstituencyPakatan Harapan + Barisan NasionalPerikatan NasionalMember of Parliament
P041Kepala Batas42.39%57.61%Siti Mastura Mohamad
P042Tasek Gelugor37.17%62.83%Wan Saiful Wan Jan
P043 Bagan 85.71%14.29% Lim Guan Eng
P044Permatang Pauh42.81%57.19%Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan
P045 Bukit Mertajam 80.66%19.34% Steven Sim Chee Keong
P046 Batu Kawan 78.04%21.95% Chow Kon Yeow
P047 Nibong Tebal 61.45%38.55% Fadhlina Sidek
P048 Bukit Bendera 84.93%15.07% Syerleena Abdul Rashid
P049 Tanjong 90.46%9.54% Lim Hui Ying
P050 Jelutong 71.75%22.25% RSN Rayer
P051 Bukit Gelugor 86.34%13.66% Ramkarpal Singh
P052 Bayan Baru 67.16%32.84% Sim Tze Tzin
P053Balik Pulau49.91%50.09% Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik

Seats that changed allegiance

No.SeatPrevious Party (2018)Current Party (2022)
N02 Bertam Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU) Barisan Nasional (UMNO)
N03 Pinang Tunggal Pakatan Harapan (PKR) Perikatan Nasional (PAS)
N04 Permatang Berangan Barisan Nasional (UMNO) Perikatan Nasional (PAS)
N05 Sungai Dua Barisan Nasional (UMNO) Perikatan Nasional (PAS)
N06 Telok Ayer Tawar Pakatan Harapan (PKR) Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)
N10 Seberang Jaya Pakatan Harapan (PKR) Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)
N11 Permatang Pasir Pakatan Harapan (AMANAH) Perikatan Nasional (PAS)
N12 Penanti Pakatan Harapan (PKR) Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)
N20 Sungai Bakap Pakatan Harapan (PKR) Perikatan Nasional (PAS)
N21 Sungai Acheh Pakatan Harapan (PKR) Barisan Nasional (UMNO)
N39 Pulau Betong Pakatan Harapan (PKR) Perikatan Nasional (PAS)
N40 Telok Bahang Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU) Perikatan Nasional (BERSATU)

Notes

    1. PH: 35 seats
      BN: 2 seats
    1. New coalition formed in 2020. These numbers are the total seats and vote share of BERSATU, PAS and GERAKAN in the last election. The parties were previously part of Pakatan Harapan, Gagasan Sejahtera and Barisan Nasional.
    1. The seat was won by Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq in the 2018 Penang state election as a candidate of Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU). BERSATU exited PH in March 2020, and created a new coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN). Khaliq was vacated from his seat in an approved motion in the Penang state assembly on 6 March 2023.
    2. The seat was won by Afif Bahardin in the 2018 Penang state election as a candidate of Pakatan Harapan (PKR). He later exited PH and PKR in March 2020, and joined BERSATU and Perikatan Nasional (PN). Afif was vacated from his seat in an approved motion in the Penang state assembly on 6 March 2023.
    3. The seat was won by Zulkifli Ibrahim in the 2018 Penang state election as a candidate of Pakatan Harapan (PKR). He later exited PH and PKR in March 2020, and joined BERSATU and Perikatan Nasional (PN). Zulkifli was vacated from his seat in an approved motion in the Penang state assembly on 6 March 2023.
    4. The seat was won by Zolkifly Mohd Lazim in the 2018 Penang state election as a candidate of Pakatan Harapan (BERSATU). BERSATU exited PH in March 2020, and created a new coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN). Zolkifly was vacated from his seat in an approved motion in the Penang state assembly on 6 March 2023.

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