I WAS one of many Penangites who braved the rain to attend a ceramah at the Han Chiang Hall on March 6. We cheered the leaders of DAP and their partners from Pakatan Rakyat when they promised a new dawn for Malaysia and unveiled their eight-point manifesto for Penang.

We shouted ourselves hoarse when they vowed to make Penang the next Singapore and roared our approval when they proclaimed "Penang deserves better". And on March 8, we "voted for change".

Fast-forward to May 2008.

The new Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, has achieved something that Penangites previously believed to be impossible -- completely squandering the feelings of optimism and hope, and deflating the feel-good factor within the short span of two months.

The DAP and its Pakatan Rakyat partners, riding on a wave of anti-Barisan Nasional sentiments, have scored a stunning upset in the 12th general election.
The appointment of Lim and other stalwarts such as the highly respected academic, Prof P. Ramasamy, was warmly received by Penangites.

Malaysians had known how Lim, in the past, displayed boldness and tenacity in bringing up issues of justice and fairness, even at the cost of his own personal freedom and safety. His efforts in standing up for the ordinary rakyat, no doubt, played a big part in his huge electoral win.

However, almost from Day One, Lim has waded into controversy after controversy.

Hardly a day passes without the chief minister making the front pages for all the wrong reasons. He has been fighting and arguing with almost everyone, from the prime minister to the second finance minister, the former chief minister and his wife, and even his own party leaders.

Such populist tactics might work when you have no responsibility and are an opposition party leader. But when you are the chief minister of a state, you are expected to deliver your promises and lead the state to greater heights.

One of the key promises made by DAP was the introduction of local council elections and the representation by non-governmental organisations in the local councils.

However, just after becoming the CM, Lim made a 180- degree turn by saying that due to the logistical and cost issues, the local elections should be held to coincide with the general election.

This means that Penangites need to wait until 2013 for local council elections. To rub salt into the wound, he proceeded to appoint 43 politicians as local councillors. To pacify the rakyat, he originally promised 10 places for NGOs but in the end, seven of these places were given to powerful business interests. Only three went to NGOs. Even these appointments were made in an opaque manner, much to the dismay of many Penangites.

The CM claims he wants to work with the federal government but he keeps making highly antagonistic statements to upset federal leaders. He says he doesn't believe in witch-hunts but hardly a day passes without Lim accusing the former administration of some wrongdoing (without providing any evidence whatsoever).

While the party has "Malaysia for Malaysians" as its slogan and meritocracy as its core principle, when it came to selecting the candidates for key governmental positions, again Lim failed miserably.

The composition of the state executive council (exco) was anything but based on meritocracy. The members were appointed based on their political affiliations and race rather than their abilities and track record.

The CM could have made amends by appointing as head of InvestPenang an apolitical candidate or through an open interview process. However, he decided to indulge in political machination by bringing in a member of the previous administration.

We hope that the new CM will just shut up and get to work. As leader of one of the important states in Malaysia, he is judged by his achievements and not by the number of press statements he issues.