‘DAP, the undisputed champion of Penang’

GEORGE TOWN: A lingering question has emerged following the successful completion of the Gerakan’s national party elections last weekend.

The poser – has Gerakan abandoned its former power base, Penang?

Results of its elections seemed to indicate this although officially, party leaders preach about closing of ranks and unity in Barisan Nasional (BN).

But if one analyses it closely, most of the candidates who won were largely not from Penang but from all over the country.

The first casualty was Penang Gerakan chairman Teng Chang Yeow, who lost his bid to become the new president, losing to Mah Siew Keong with a majority of over 500 votes.

Mah, a former party secretary-general has slowly but surely moved through the ranks to become the party’s fifth president after his predecessor- former Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon who was forced out after he was unable to break free from a widely held perception that he was subservient to BN’s power broker- Umno.

Former Penang Gerakan Youth head Oh Tong Keong lost the wing’s national post to upstart Kedah Gerakan Youth head Tan Keng Liang.

During the 80′s and 90′s, Gerakan was mostly top heavy with leaders from Penang and Perak, but this changed after the 2008 general election.

Gerakan is now seen to be gravitating northwards as two of its promising leaders, deputy president Dr Cheah Soon Hai and Keng Liang hail from Kedah.

Its vice-presidential line up is one of the most colourful ever, it is also the first time that a Malay – Dr Asharuddin Ahmad has managed to win such a post, followed by A. Kohilan Pillay and Teo Kok Eng, from Johor, who was rewarded for securing one parliamentary seat for the party.

Dr Asharuddin and Kohilan represent Gerakan’s presence in the Klang Valley.

Teo helped Liang Teck Meng retain the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat and Liang is on track to become Gerakan’s sole representative in the cabinet if Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak accedes to its request to return back to the federal government.

Historically, Gerakan was founded by the human rights driven academician – the late Syed Hussein Al-Atas, who was among several intellectuals forming the party in 1968, as an offshoot from the now defunct Labour Party.

Its political bastion covered mostly Penang and Perak until it lost both states in 2008.

Now its elected leaders are a diversified lot judging from the central committee line-up where only three Penangites; Baljit Singh, Ng Siew Lai and Dr Thor Teong Gee were elected in while the rest are based in Kedah, Perak, Pahang, Johor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur or Selangor.

It is said that Sabah should be the party’s new frontier because the state has shown that it appreciates Gerakan’s multi-ethnic background and moderate political stance.

Two Penang Gerakan leaders take on the situation

Veteran Ng Fook On from Jelutong, said it is fair to say that this time round there are not many leaders from Penang elected, but it should not be seen as a setback to the party as Gerakan is by principle, a national-based organisation.

It depends on how Teng leads Penang Gerakan and on how he strategises with the national leadership about how to tackle the state.

Ng said in politics, nothing is permanent so it is unfair to say that Gerakan is a goner.

“Today, we may have lost but tomorrow, we can win. We must be prepared to serve no matter what situation, the people place us in.”

Dr Thor offers his perspective, saying that democracy is not only about contesting in an election and winner taking all.

“In Gerakan, the victors must be prepared to extend an olive branch and work with the loser. The latter must be willing to come back and serve. Democracy is also about respecting the views of the minority.”

Dr Thor said the onus is now on how Mah rebuts an emerging perception that Gerakan may have forsaken Penang.

Our newly elected president must find ways to reach out to Penang Gerakan, either through appointment of posts or entrusting them with new responsibilities, he added.

“I think that to fight Pakatan Rakyat, BN leaders may not necessary hold national posts. It is our actions and our strategies which count. We can win back the hearts and minds of the people here, but it takes time, more struggling and tenacity.”

Dr Thor expects Gerakan to close ranks and consolidate ahead of the long battle with Pakatan, especially in Penang.

For now, many in the party have privately conceded that DAP has become the new undisputed champion of Penang.