Lim is to face trial on charges of corruption and abuse of power and would be disqualified on conviction.

However, Lim said the decision would be made by the party.

“Of course he would be my natural choice,” Lim told reporters after attending a Seberang Perai municipal council event.

Chow, who is Penang DAP chairman, was sidelined when Lim, who is party secretary-general, took the chief minister’s position when the party gained a dominant position in the state assembly after the 2008 General Election.

The question of a possible new chief minister has arisen since Lim was charged on June 30 with corruption and abuse of power relating to his purchase of a bungalow in Jalan Pinhorn for RM2.8 million and the state government’s rezoning of a piece of agricultural land to residential use. A businesswoman, Phang Li Koon, was accused of abetting Lim on both charges.

Lim has proposed seeking the dissolution of the state assembly and the holding of fresh elections. There have been suggestions that the DAP would bring in someone outside of Penang as a possible successor should Lim be convicted.

Two names were speculated upon, and denied by the DAP. They were Anthony Loke, MP for Seremban and party deputy secretary-general, and Tony Pua, MP for Petaling Jaya Utara and the party’s head of publicity.

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