Last night, Mustafa and I spoke at a Gerakan ‘teh tarik’ session on the outcome of the Permatang Pauh by-election and its implications.
I was surprised to see the level of interest among those who attended, including non-Gerakan members as well. Many were keen to know whether Anwar would get his 30 MPs by 16 September.
I told them I had no idea. I stressed to them the importance of institutional checks and balances. We cannot rely on a strong personality alone to bring about change. We need deeper institutional reforms – to the judiciary, police, ACA, Parliament, Election Commission and Suhakam. We also need a change in the mindset among politicians so that they really serve the rakyat and not themselves.
Towards the end of my presentation, I threw up several scenarios for Gerakan to consider.
- Remain in BN
- but it’s sinking, mired as it is in racial politics
- can it abandon racial politics and turn into a multi-racial coalition?
- just as important, can it get rid of money politics, cronyism, corruption?
- Pull out and join Pakatan Rakyat
- but do they have place for you, beyond adding another feather to the PR cap?
- merge with one of the existing PR parties
- Pull out and become an opposition party
- return to the party’s roots with a clear ideology
- become a genuine multi-ethnic party
- turn into national-level opposition party or an opposition party in Penang
- but for that to happen, it needs a leadership revamp
- and equally important, do Gerakan members have what it takes to survive in the opposition?
- and does the party think it has too much to lose in terms of being part of govt in certain states?
- The final option, which I didn’t mention last night, is just disband and allow its members to decide which parties they want to join.
That said, I do think that Penang in particular needs a multi-ethnic opposition party to serve as a check and balance. Whether Gerakan can play that role remains to be seen. But a leadership revamp is needed first.
Here’s a response from Plain Truth:
Every time it rains heavily, Georgetown floods.
Even if the petrol price at the pumps were to hit RM5.00, Penangites will still have to use their cars for want of a reliable public transport system.
18 years at the helm and KTK could not even fix such basic problems as flood mitigation and putting in place a reliable public transport network.
Instead we are hit with the disgusting land scams revelations which KTK neatly side-stepped (most of it) in his recent debate with LGE.
If the Gerakan membership do not even see fit to revamp their current leadership, it will be better for Gerakan to die a natural death – better for Penang, anyway.
After all, it is a party that has parted with the ideals of its founding fathers a long time back.
What do you think?
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Anil:
Good summary at the forum last night. Gerakan has no choice but to remain status quo, ie remain in BN. UMNO needs Gerakan to portray BN as a “multi ethnic” coalition. Gerakan needs UMNO to survive on the crumbs that UMNO throws to them. They need a bigger brother to cling onto. It is like a synergistic survival for both of them. Gerakan will not join Pakatan after what has been said by its leaders. It will be sheer hyprocrisy to do so. Although I am sure Pakatan will welcome them in. On its own, Gerakan will quickly fade away as a memory. Based on these scenarios, do they have any better option?
Regarding your points that some issues were not raised by PKR during the PP campaign (ISA,OSA, Sedition Act, environmental issues, etc), I think you are being a bit idealistic. The PP electorate are more concerned with their bread and butter issues than these. No doubt these are important issues but these will not go down with the electorate there during the ceramahs. They will probably go “huh?”
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Not need to do all these analysis. They are academic. Just get out as fast as possible before the BN-UMNO ship sinks. There are a lot of holes already and water is dripping in slowly.We need just one big torpedo and the whole BN-UMNO ship plus its crew of corrupt and incompetent human beings will sink and drown to dead.
Gerakan, the writing is on the wall. Cabut before it is toooooooo late!!!!
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Many had hailed the new political landscape of a 2 party system. We may consider PR as the more ethical of the two coalition but it is in the nature of life and human that this will not remain forever. Whenever government, particularly large government such as Malaysia, the involvement of business will always be inevitable. With open tender system there may be a check but it had been known even with open tender system that corruption is possible. Government ministers who had helped big corporations to secure lucrative government contracts were themselves rewarded with well-paying directorship upon retirement.
Given such a landscape I believe that a third party is always needed. The third party will consists of people dedicated to the cause of the small man or to take up issues that are important to the people rather than businesses. The third party will be small and have very little chance of ever becoming a large party that can form the government. This small third party will have very little involvement with the business sector and have very little chance of becoming the government and hence cannot peddle influence to gain filthy lucre.
They can then act rightly as the concient of the people. The small still voice.
I think Gerakan(minus Lim Keng Yaik 8-)) can play that role.
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A merger with DAP which I forsee, will also merge with PKR in due course as a natural evolution of politics in Malaysia. Perhaps even PAS will merge and eventually a true “Laborite”, Democrat, Liberal party is formed.
Vis-a-vis a Conservative, Republican, National BN.
Not my first time purveying this scenario.
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I agree with your final option. Gerakan should just disband and allow its members to join which ever party in the P.R. When their leaders were talking who should take over from Koh Tsu Koon as CM I bet they never envisage that they would lose Penang. Koh Tsu Koon look so pathetic when he was campaigning for the BN candidate in Permatang Pauh.
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For Gerakan to pull out of BN and become an independent opposition party may not be good for a 2 party system. It leads to 3 corner fights and this always favours BN.
I think the best option is for Gerakan to merge with DAP. Both of them spring from very similar ideology of multi-racialism and socialism. DAP has remained true to its roots but Gerakan has deviated since joining BN. Gerakan can now be said to be devoid of ideology.
Gerakan needs to return to its roots but with this present crop of leaders, it won’t happen. Gerakan will continue to bleed good leaders and members until they are ousted.
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It all boils down to self interest. How many true leaders are there in politics? If Gerakan/MCA takes the leap, they are afraid they’ll lose their positions (with power) if they ever join Pakatan.
They are still in denial mode. They are already toothless tigers even remaining in BN
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If this country were to have a 2 party system, both BN & PR have their respective rolls.
I think a 5th option may be more favourable.
Return Gerakan to MCA/MIC.
Let’s be realistic.
Without Penang, Gerakan is finished.
Let members decide individually whether they want to join MCA/MIC or PR component parties.
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gerakan … r … i think better close down the party lar….only idiots left inside there now and… the more reason why PR should not accept gerakan
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I had a talk with an ex-penang city councilor who served under Gerakan for 2 years . He left both Gerakan and the city council because he was disgusted with the party. Any discrepancies he discovered in the city council was swept under the carpet because it would be embarrassing for the idiot leader and he was told not to talk about it. He also found that the idiot will flip-flop on decisions constantly and if you did not toe the party line you will find yourself slowly pushed into a corner. To be a Gerakan member and to be able to rise up in the ranks you need to have a strong ability to kiss a** so you see the current top guys in Gerakan are really good a**-kissers without any other real ability.
Why would we want them to be the opposition in Penang? Didn’t we give them a clear enough message on March 8th ??
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someone should launch an online campain -TUTUP MCA, MIC & GERAKAN
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Every time it rains heavily, Georgetown floods.
Even if the petrol price at the pumps were to hit RM5.00, Penangites will still have to use their cars for want of a reliable public transport system.
18 years at the helm and KTK could not even fix such basic problems as flood mitigation and putting in place a reliable public transport network.
Instead we are hit with the disgusting land scams revelations which KTK neatly side-stepped (most of it) in his recent debate with LGE.
If the Gerakan membership do not even see fit to revamp their current leadership, it will be better for Gerakan to die a natural death – better for Penang, anyway.
After all, it is a party that has parted with the ideals of its founding fathers a long time back.
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Gerakan,MCA and MIC should merge and then quit politic,form a big social club and indulge in social activities such as recycle campaign,beautifying our environment and educating school children on moral etc. These activities will lessen their sins for their previous incompetency and corruption.
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Too late for the cancerous Gerakan party to stay and survive in Penang….Perhaps becoming an independent opposition party in BN held states???Since they are better compared to BN when without BN???Or maybe honest, sincere ones like DR.Toh leave Gerakan for Pakatan Rakyat while the rest in gerakan just … rot …l???
Someone i know by the name of Frankie should leave too, you are innocent, why dont u leave Gerakan for PKR or DAP??? I know u know me, Frankie…..if you want to survive, just sit beside Anwar in ceramah just like what Dr.Toh did….and may you be blessed with good Feng Shui….and also good meaningful party….All the best to Dr.Toh…..may KTK rot … together with UMNO morons…….
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My thoughts – Gerakan was swept away because it compromised its ideals. Once that happens, it lost the will to listen to the people. I really don have the answers for Gerakan really.
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If it stays on in BN, Gerakan will become another PPP, hanging on to BN’s coat tails in the hope of seats and positions long after it has lost relevance to Umno.
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this country is in a serious need of ECONOMIC VISIONARIES – people like Lim Chong Eu and mayyyybeee Dr.M. we need leaders that can see 10 years ahead on what this world is going to be like and how Malaysia is going to play a prominent role in that world.
social progress requires a strong economic backbone or not its just going to fall apart because it is not sustainable.
right now in UMNO, MCA, MIC, PPP, Gerakan and all the other sabah sarawak component parties and also sadly to say PAS, DAP and PKR – there is no one that fits the bill of an economic visionary.
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Gerakan oh Gerakan! What happened to you?
A party that offered so much to the color blind Malaysian wannabe with its founding ideology but no longer practices nor promote the ideology.
Instead, today you are so fearful for your survival that you depend on UMNO to give you the lifeline or rather should I say leash.
The party may claim its ‘intellectual’ membership but over time, it has been diluted by self-serving members until today those without conscience of service to the country and its people determine the future of the party.
The leaders of Gerakan fails to understand that the party will never come back into prominence unless it is on the coattails of UNNO, for the rakyat is disgusted with your lack of position in accordance with your ideology.
Since you no longer have the support of your traditional base, then the only way the party can come back is on the support of the UMNO hardcore.
So where does that leave you? More of the same?
If you continue to claim yourself a party of intellectuals, then it is a simple case of identifying what you should do next or rather should have done.
If you are still unable to fathom what the rakyat wants, then the party is devoid of intellectuals but comprises mainly of scared selfish and ‘blind’ personalities.
The party is as good as doomed! 3 windows of opportunity were presented to Gerakan to reconsider its position within BN, immediately after 8 March, at the onset of unity talks by UMNO/PAS and the recent by-election, but they let the windows float by.
Soon enough, the party itself will float by into oblivion much to the loss of ordinary Malaysians!
I do not know what else to say except bye-bye.
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Gerakan should assume the role of an opposition as a credible check against PR. Acton’s adage and all.
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All I can think of at the moment is that Gerakan is purely a ‘parasite’ party. They are just merely leeches. They will never foresake big …. UMNO.
When someone mentioned it is a ‘mosquito’ party? Well, do you know how mosquite survive? Yes, they are ‘parasites’. Even though many may refer them as ‘beggar-party’, I doubt that is the right name. We should refer and call them ‘PARASITE-PARTY’!
And, can anyone let us know what is the life-span of a mosquito? Yes, Gerakan will soon ‘pupus sendiri’ when their life-span is finished and it will not be long by the way they open thier mouth to suck us Rakyats like mosquitoes.
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Talking about land scandal in Penang. Land scandals in Penang seems to be rampant. I know of a piece of land that was supposed to be a recreation ground and the residents in the area could not understand why a condo got build up there. Since it was not a big piece of land, car park space is limited and the cars from the residents of the condo just spill over to the roadsides much to the annoyance of the residents of the houses nearby. I believe the previous state government has a hand in this but due to the apathy of the people, no protest was made or maybe protest was made but the politicians know how to play it down. What Limg guan Eng exposed is just the tip of the iceberg. The former Gerakan state government will never find and thing wrong with the numerous land deals. No corruption just only “mistakes”.
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Gerakan started out well as an opposition party that managed to secure itself as an alternative to the then Alliance – enough to secure itself the right to rule Penang. Over the years, after the leadership decided to positively respond to The olive branch offered by the Late Tun Abdul Razak forming Barisan Nasional, it slowly lost its focus as it jostled to a “better MCA”. I agree Gerakan needs to revamp itself and the best way is out and away from BN. Then and only then it can consider whether it can contribute – perhaps – in Oakatan Rakyat.
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what did gerakan do for us? just name me one? they are useless and used rakyat for their own end for 30 years.
can they be useful for once and leave BN and lead the domino effect? If they do that at least people will take notice. if not they will just fades. At least PPP has kayveas.
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We are creatures of habit. Hence despite the overwhelming logic for leaving the BN, Gerakan is still unable to let go and make the critical decision to ensure that they stay relevant.
UMNO the leader in BN has lost its direction and their component partners are at a lost as to what they should do. To stay on is a formula to sink with the ship. I should think in this case it would be wise for the crew to jump ship and let the honourable captain go down in glory with the ship.
The consideration of whetther they should join PKR, re-invent themselves, or whatever is of secondary importance. They should save their own skins.
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UMNO should immediately take action against a Datuk who alledgedly referred to the Chinese as squatters in the country. GERAKAN, MCA and MIC should join hand in pursuing this matter. The statement has equally affected the feelings of the Indians and other minorities in the country. After 50 years of independence, we still see racial politics rearing its ugly head. This is bad for the the future of the country. BN has sunk to its lowest bed after the Permatang Pauh by-election. We saw how the racial cards were played explicitly by some UMNO leaders to win the hearts of the Malays. It did not work, though. Most Malays voted for DSAI instead. Most Malays are now matured enough. Most Malays are of mixed race and they now have a soft spot for other races. In Malaysia now, we have cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunties, grabdparents, parents etc., of different races and religions. We are so mixed that racial politics will soon die a natural death. But, some UMNO … are still talking about race and condemning the Chinese and Indians as ‘aliens’ in this country. Sad for the country. For rhis reason, PR will thrive and DSAI is on the right track to bring racial politics to an end.
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