87. Gerakan’s position in BN
Gerakan, one of the "founders" of the Barisan Nasional (BN) with about 250,000 members, is in a fix.
Following its dismal performance in the March 8 general election, the party is caught between calls from its grassroot members to evaluate its effectiveness in the ruling coalition and being faithful to the BN family.
The matter had raised the temperature in the party to the extent that the Gerakan central committee (CC), the party’s highest decision-making body, had to convene six meetings to discuss the issue, the last being on Saturday, a day before the Penang Gerakan elections.
As a result, the CC concluded that the party should call an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to disc
uss the matter, and not have it done at the national delegates conference (NDC), if the members persist on debating it, a party source told Bernama on condition of anonymity.
It felt that the proper forum to engage in this thorny issue would be the EGM and not the NDC because "during the NDC, so many other issues have to be discussed and, furthermore, this is a party election year."
"It looks like everyone is pushing Dr Koh to decide. They want him to make a stand on the matter," a party insider revealed.
The latest CC meet also wanted Koh to meet delegates and members to explain the pros and cons of making such a stand.
"Before calling for an EGM, the party leadership, especially the president, must give a detailed explanation on the matter. It should be a no holds barred discussion behind closed doors, then members can decide for themselves what they want to do," he added.
The members, many feel, should not be emotional in discussing the issue and must always be rational and objective as the issue could touch on sensitive matters. Some party leaders have even pointed their fingers at Koh for allowing the issue get out of hand and for turning a deaf ear to mounting voices of unhappiness in the party.
"This is not just about me. It is about the future of the party itself, the idealogy and the principles which have been decided by our forefathers and veteran party members before.
"It was during the height of the Ahmad Ismail case that I received a phone call from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu (former Gerakan president and founding member), who reminded me that Gerakan was one of the founding members of Barisan Nasional," Koh, the former Penang chief minister, said in response to the harsh criticism.
Veteran party member Tan Sri Dr Chin Fook Weng explained that it was Gerakan that backed the then Alliance party, consisting of Umno, MCA and MIC, to form a coalition to administer the Penang state government.
"That was the birth of the BN. We now have to explain this in detail. How the birth of the BN came forth and all. We are, in fact, one of the founding members of the BN," Chin said, adding that this was not the time for Gerakan to be impatient.
"We started in 1974, we are one of the founders. We did not join the BN, we founded the BN. We cannot abandon it. The struggle will be very long ... it’s only proper we nurse the sick party even if takes some time to cure," he added.
Gerakan CC member Teng Chang Yeow said the party, despite the history, was at a crossroad now.
Therefore, there was an urgent need for party members to carefully assess the situation and the political developments over the past six months.
"Other component parties of the BN also suffered. There is no clear fault. You just cannot pinpoint anyone and say is was your fault.
"It’s just like a marriage. If the marriage runs into a problem, you will put in an effort to try and save it. Others can tell you do this and that, but at the end of the day, it is you yourself who is going to be affected," he added. - theSun / Bernama.
