Sep 282008
Looks like Gerakan has some tough decisions to make, if they are to survive as a party. This is what Koh Tsu Koon says here:
“If you go on sentiments alone, I would say more than 60% (want us to leave), but we are taking a lot of factors into consideration, and a decision cannot be based just on sentiments.
I believe one of the factors is the Gerakan reps with positions in government will probably lose their positions if they pull out.
The choice for the party is simple: either return to its roots and embrace the reform agenda whole-heartedly (can it really do that within the Barisan and with the current party leadership?) or lose more and more of their members and disappear into oblivion.
And what is the reform agenda? To me, that would mean:
- removing all repressive laws,
- wiping out corruption and money politics; disentangling business from politics
- committing seriously to multi-ethnic politics,
- narrowing the wide income disparities and wiping out poverty
- providing universal access to quality health care and education
- ensuring the dignity of workers and upholding workers’ rights,
- ensuring that development is holistic and people-centred (i.e. truly beneficial to the people), and
- protecting the environment.
60% majority ..get out then this the voice of the majority…
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Forget abt whatever KTK said la.
Afterall, he is just like a tiger losing his teeth!
In other word, carry no weight!
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Gerakan leaders are too entrenched in the BN patronage system for them to quit. I don’t see Gerakan quitting BN until it is well and truly buried, or when BN is no longer the Federal Government, in which case there will be no more patronage to benefit from.
At that point the mercenaries will, of course, quit and probably join PR. Question is – should PR accept these soldiers of fortune ?
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Pls dun advise KTK to move Gerakan over to PR. (Some of them) are … infected cronies from BN.Look at how he lawak bodoh at the debate with LGE.”Dah jadi kerajaan negeri,masih macam pembangkang”…says KTK…
Dah UMNO pun tak nak Gerakan masih macam muka bawang,tak malu”Let GErakan be disbanded!!!
Sorry Lim Chong Eu,u r well respected in Pg but not ur useless current leaders.Bet Lim Chong Eu will feel betrayed by LKY and his gang!!!
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You hang in there, bro! UMNO needs you and your elder brother, MCA to play “catch”. You just hang in there, ok? Good Boy! Meanwhile, to other Gerakan members, please form an orderly queue to join Pakatan Rakyat. C U When U Get There!
Cheeers!
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Let Gerakan be intact. But take the party out of BN. Be independent but aligned to PR. I am sure PR will accept you r affiliation.
As time go by and if KTK fines is synergistic to amalgate with another multi-racial party, then do so.
Your manifesto appear quite similar to those of the other parties in PR. Gerakan’s survival as a political party is crucial now. And I feel that if you move out and be independent like SAPP you will be doing the right thing.
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Every which way but lose.
http://romerz.blogspot.com/2008/09/every-which-way-but-lose.html
No, not the movie starring Clint Eastwood and Orville, his pet orangutan, but the options facing Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia at the moment.
The Star online reported today that Gerakan is at a crossroads, a defining moment in its history, for what it decides to do next could very well decide whether it survives as a viable political entity or not. The report quotes Acting President Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon saying that the party is faced with 3 options.
1. Stay with BN
2. Leave BN and join Pakatan Rakyat
3. Leave BN and remain independent
The way I see it, all 3 options stinks in so far as Gerakan is concerned.
Stay with BN and bleed members/supporters daily until it is nothing but a shell of a party? If UMNO continues going the way it is going, the people will complete the job started but not finished at the 12 GE come the next general elections. A losing option.
What can Gerakan expect if it joins PR? Probably nothing much better since its power base is Penang and that would be in direct conflict with DAP. By joining PR, Gerakan can most probably expect to be marginalized as I can’t see DAP giving up seats for Gerakan to contest in the next GE. Another losing option.
Stay out of BN and PR and remain independent? This may sound the best of the above 3 options but with 2 MPs and 4 ADUNs, it doesn’t have enough numbers to influence anything unless the situation is really tight or unless it can convince other BN component parties who are in similiar situations as Gerakan is in to join along the independent wagon.
The only non-sectarian parties within BN are small ones and mostly from Sabah and Sarawak. So far SAPP from Sabah is the only possible ally to be found. But their concerns are different from those of Gerakan, their concerns revolves around Sabah whereas Gerakan is trying to project an image of a national party fighting for national ideals.
In my opinion, Gerakan as an independent party will most probably end up standing alone on the peninsular and will most probably be trampled upon by UMNO, MCA, MIC, PKR, DAP and PAS. From time to time, Gerakan may be called upon for support but for the most part, Gerakan will only exist until the next GE. It has only bought itself time until the next GE when it has to compete against 2 giants. Another losing option!
So given these scenarios, it would seem that nothing Gerakan does really matters any more. Frankly, all I see of the 3 options available is just delaying the inevitable. I’m about 90% sure that Gerakan will not survive as a viable entity given the current mood of the rakyat. And even if the anger abates somewhat, Penang voters will give DAP another term at least, which means another 9-10 years. By which time, Gerakan will only become a distant memory or if its still around then, it will be nothing more than a name but without substance.
I would now like to propose a radical 4th option. No it does not guarantee Gerakan’s survival as a political entity but it will ensure the name of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia will at least go down in history as a party that lived and died fighting for a better democratic Malaysia.
Right now, the name Gerakan, being associated with UMNO/BN is spoken with disdain by the ordinary rakyat. They only tolerate the name out of respect and fondness of a party which took Malaysian politics by storm some 39 years ago. Eventually history and past deeds will only count for so much before the reality of today sets in, if it hasn’t already.
My proposal is Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, lock, stock and barrel, join Parti KeADILan Rakyat and go down in history as a party that gave up its life for a better Malaysia.
It is not that hard really. PKR’s ideology is similiar to Gerakan’s and if both parties claim that their existence are for a Malaysian Malaysia and not personal interests, then amalgamation is a sensible step. Think of the synergy that such a merger will create. PKR needs more non-Malay support and Gerakan can provide this support since it is unable to attract Malay support on its own.
Like it or not, nothing will change in this country unless you have the support of the majority Malays.
Off course PKR has the upper hand and what remains of Gerakan will be at their magnamity but isn’t it better to go out holding your head up high than a pathetic whimper?
Do this and Malaysians, for generations to come, may remember with pride that there was once a political party called Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia who at the country’s hour of need, sacrificed itself so that Malaysians of all races and religions could hope for a better future!
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i sincerely believe koh tsu koon is an excellent leader and would have been as good as lim guan eng if it werent for the fact he has to kowtow to BN leaders.I am sure the land scam is actually not his doing but rather the other fellas that he has to give face to.
he is quite honest and hardworking…
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No need to say more Tsu Koon. You had me at Gerakan!
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The greatest service that this political eunuch KTK can do for the people of Penang is to disband Gerakan and fade away.
KTK doesn’t even have the decency to come clean on the land scams. So why should he be welcomed into Pakatan?
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Ahmad Ismail tore your photo and you can only come out with this meek response?
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Many Malaysian parties will capsize following the Tsunami wave of Reform that has started to sweep through the nation. Gerakan can either flow with the wave towards safer harbour or sink against the waves.
The safe harbour is NOT Pakatan Rakyat nor DSAI nor Raja Petra. All these entities and personalities are mere instruments of reform that the nation needs. The authorities can oppress and suppress the leaders but they will only give more weight and momentum to the Reform wave.
With Najib and new players fighting for the top post in UMNO, the reform agenda is back on track as now the number of players is reduced by one and the probability of defeat and victory is more clear cut. Can Najib reinvent himself to be the new reformist? Let’s give him a chance lah before March 2009. And the rest will be history..
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60% members wanted to leave BN but they have no say…. what democracy is that??? Of course, the President Tsu Koon has the final say or veto power.
Now, let us examine the reasons why Tsu Koon Gerakan cannot leave the BN…
.. if gerakan leaves BN, and joins Pakatan Rakyat… that means Tsu Koon will be just a follower of Lim Guan Eng. No way is tsu koon going to get back his former post. DAP cannot just hand him the CM post like that, right? so macam mana ini boleh???
If they remain in BN, hopefully Gerakan may be given the mandate by BN to wrest back Penang come the next general election. of course, tsu koon is hopeful to regain CM post. so in this scenario, gerakan mungkin ada chance lagi…
BUT Gerakan members and Tsu Koon must also consider think seriously whether BN will give them the mandate to wrest back Penang in 4-5 years time.??? BN could instead give the mandate to MCA and not Gerakan, after all they had lost more teruk compared with MCA. i foresee Gerakan could be played out by BN next election. There are also certain quarters within BN asking for their expulsion from BN. in this scenario, they are also a goner. But in fact, it will be a greater shame to face this situation in future if you still linger on as a sore thumb in BN.
what is there left to salvage in this precarious situation… the malays say hidup segan, mati tak mau !!?? I think gerakan members should seriously consider other options to jump ship now before the whole ship sinks. Some smart gerakan leaders have done just that… So Join other existing parties or set up a new one.
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