GEORGE TOWN: A DAP preparatory election workshop here has received lukewarm response, prompting the organiser to wonder how the party would fare against Barisan Nasional.

DAP Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik, who organised the workshop, said only half of the 30 members from the Kampung Kolam and New Komtar branches attended the event.

“We are no longer the Opposition in the state, we are ruling the state now, but with the unsatisfactory turnout, how are we going to face Barisan Nasional’s election machinery?

“We need to monitor, think, plan strategies and mobilise more manpower for the next general election,” he said.

“There is not much time left.”

State DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who delivered his keynote address at the event, said the people were looking at Pakatan Rakyat’s performances, and that the state government was the yardstick.

Another speaker Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi said the “war” Pakatan Rakyat fought against Barisan during the 2008 general election may be different to that in the coming election.

“We know that the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is not only popular among the Chinese but also among Malays,” he said.

“But we cannot continue to be in the comfort zone,” he added.

The Star - May 31, 2010
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/31/nation/6370538&sec=nation