DAP may make comeback attempt

DAP may make comeback attempt

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's largest opposition party, which last week said goodbye to northern Penang state after being trounced in national polls, has hinted it may make a comeback attempt in the showcase industrial hub.

"Goodbyes are not necessarily forever," Karpal Singh, deputy chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), was quoted saying by The Sunday Times.

The DAP had made a valiant attempt to wrest control of Penang from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling National Front coalition in the country's ninth general elections but was humiliated in a crushing defeat.

Mahathir's coalition, riding on its record of robust economic growth, swept 32 of 33 state seats in Penang and all but three of the 11 parliamentary seats.

Nationwide, the Front scooped 162 of the 192 parliamentary seats -- giving Mahathir a comfortable 84.4 percent majority in parliament -- and retained control of 12 of 13 states.