Loke said the Penang constitution, which limits the term of the chief minister’s post, is “crystal clear”.

“Whoever has served two terms cannot become chief minister again.

“And our (DAP) position is to respect Penang’s constitution,” he told reporters after an event here.

Loke was responding to former DAP central executive committee member Teng Chang Khim’s claim there was a notion that the state constitution only stipulates a chief minister cannot serve two consecutive terms.

In a podcast hosted by Malaysiakini, Teng said there was a perception that a former chief minister could return to the post after a “gap”.

He said while the constitution already stipulates that a chief minister could not return after serving two terms, the way the constitution is phrased left room for interpretation.

Teng went on to say it would be more meaningful for the leadership to guarantee that a former chief minister, who has already completed the two terms, is prohibited from occupying the post ever again.

In 2018, the Penang assembly passed an amendment to the state’s constitution to limit the chief ministership to two terms.

Last year, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said DAP would not permit any reamendments to the Penang constitution’s two-term limit for the post.

On Wednesday, Chow, who is Penang DAP chairman, said he would not defend his post in the state party elections on Sept 22.

Chow said that when he was appointed to a second term as chief minister, Loke had asked him to work on a succession plan in Penang.

He said that not defending his Penang DAP chairmanship was the first step in this succession plan.

Lim Guan Eng, who is now DAP national chairman, was the chief minister for two terms from March 2008 till May 2018.