For Gerakan, the nightmare continued the morning after the March 8, 2008 election. The previous night, party leaders had watched in shock as DAP swept to power in Penang in what is now known as the “political tsunami” which saw the opposition wresting Selangor, Perak and Kedah as well.
The late Lim Keng Yaik, who was Gerakan chief at the time, declared that his party “had lost Penang for good”.
He may have been on the right track as today, DAP appears firmly entrenched in every facet of the Penang administration.
Despite several controversies over the years, most analysts agree that the state has done well.
For Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Penang’s physical change is obvious.
Shamsul said Penang’s DAP-led government was more responsive to the public and had taken a more inclusive approach to administration.
However, he warned that “over-performing” comes with a price.
Saying “rogue characters” had made a mockery of the leaders’ slogan of transparency, he likened the state government to a roti canai, stretched on all corners and torn in the middle.
“These ‘rogue’ politicians, professionals and bureaucrats often make it difficult to uphold the clean and transparent image, especially when it involves overly gigantic projects like the undersea tunnel,” he said, referring to what is perhaps the biggest controversy to have hit the state government so far.
Shamsul said in the frenzy of development, the environment had also suffered.
Most Penangites are however happy, although fatigued. Even DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong admitted this, suggesting that non-Malay support for DAP could have declined since the last polls in 2013.
But political analyst Kamarul Zaman Yusoff says DAP retaining the state at the next polls is a foregone conclusion.
Speaking to FMT, he said the state government must be doing some things right for voters to continue backing DAP.
Even Gerakan, which was once strong in Penang, was now resigned to this fact, he added.
“When the leading contenders themselves have already surrendered, what else can we say?” the Universiti Utara Malaysia academic said, adding however that DAP could suffer “a bit” due to issues like the corruption charge against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, the undersea tunnel and three main roads project, and the recent landslide problem.
Kamarul said DAP would also have to explain to its non-Malay support base its political alliance with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“A few DAP leaders and members have left the party due to their dissatisfaction with Mahathir. These things need to be explained.”
For political analyst Khoo Kay Peng, one of the biggest changes in Penang is the real estate which has grown by leaps and bounds.
Khoo said with the opening of Bayan Mutiara and Gurney Drive on the island, and Batu Kawan on the mainland, Penang was poised for growth in the long run.
However, he added that the state’s policy on diversifying its economy based largely on manufacturing and tourism, had been vague.