Dr Afif Bahardin, the former PKR Youth deputy chief, says the earlier the post is filled, the better it is for the party.

Afif said the new state chief must at least match Mansor Othman who was the Penang PKR chairman.

Afif said the incoming chairman must also be someone who has the confidence of all 13 PKR divisions in the state.

He said a name was suggested to the PKR leadership and it would now be up to party president Anwar Ibrahim to decide.

“The names suggested, I am made to understand, are from Penang. I cannot tell you more,” he said.

He said Anwar must “make an urgent decision” to fill the void, as currently the party’s inputs on the Penang government’s administration could not be channelled, besides state party issues not being addressed.

“If we cannot do this sooner, it would retard the efforts of PKR to fulfil our responsibility as a key partner in the ruling Pakatan Harapan government in Penang,” he said.

On Dec 17, Nurul Izzah, Anwar’s eldest daughter and MP for Permatang Pauh, quit all her posts in PKR.