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Friday, August 04, 2023

Spurned and humiliated, Gerakan at crossroads once more – Ian McIntyre


theVibes.com:

Spurned and humiliated, Gerakan at crossroads once more – Ian McIntyre


Partnerships crucial to party’s survival but not at its dignity’s expense



Months after Datuk Seri Dominic Lau’s (pic) presidential victory on the back of his Penang roots, with grassroots leader Oh Tong Keong becoming his deputy president, the duo scoured the political landscape, wondering how best to position the party in 2018. – Bernama pic, August 4, 2023


GERAKAN president Datuk Seri Dominic Lau swept into power around five years ago on a promise that the party needed to be in a coalition if it was to survive in an increasingly rough-and-tumble world of politics.

Voters simply do not have the zeal for memory, and are willing to discard past deeds and contributions to nation-building in favour of parties they consider the best in fighting corruption.

For some voters, it is about parties that can provide instant gratification.

Granted that Gerakan never had a leader who was penalised for corruption and oversaw the construction of one of the longest bridges and tallest buildings in the country.

Yet, the party has become an afterthought.

Months after Lau’s presidential victory on the back of his Penang roots, with grassroots leader Oh Tong Keong becoming his deputy president, the duo scoured the political landscape, wondering how best to position the party in 2018.

They were haunted by what had happened to previous multi-ethnic parties such as PPP, which was once the pride of Perak, but eroded in influence in later years.

They also saw how PKR had struggled to maintain its racially diversified base; if not for the charismatic party president and now tenth prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, it too may have floundered.


Partner up or perish


Two issues convinced Lau and drove him on: Gerakan needed to return to Penang as its base, and it needed a good partner to sustain it for a period until its rivals’ popularity waned.

After the landmark 2018 general election, where Barisan Nasional (BN) lost its reign as among the longest ever political organisations to govern a country in the world, Gerakan chose to fulfil what former president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong had espoused.

The party needed to be an alternative third voice.

After all, if one was to scrutinise its membership base, Gerakan had members from the Orang Asal community to the Malaysian Siamese and many other minorities.

However, in elections held before 2021, Gerakan was defeated convincingly, at times even losing deposits.

In Penang, it had no seats to be a force; not even a single elected opposition member to ensure check-and-balances in the assembly.

Lau sensed the void, and in party gatherings, he made a pressing choice of returning to coalition politics, of co-existing with others with mutual benefit and tolerance.


Cobbled together

The chance came in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic when the infamous Sheraton Move triggered a backdoor government led by Bersatu deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who became the nation’s eighth prime minister in early 2020.

Bersatu needed a coalition, and so, absorbing Gerakan was a natural disposition.

By 2021, Gerakan became an ally of PAS and Bersatu in what came to be called Perikatan Nasional (PN).

But Bersatu and PAS were restless, despite being in PN.

They were courted by Umno through an alignment called Muafakat Nasional, with the premise that the Malay-Muslim brotherhood itself was a strong enough deterring force to be solely dominant.

PN was never seen as a transparent and mutually beneficially political bloc to begin with; it was cobbled together for certain parties to gain power.

And to do that, the ability to win is the foremost principle, not a sense of mutual partnership and tolerance.


Mere token

To some in PN, Gerakan is just a token partner led by non-Muslims.

Further, Gerakan is not in a position to strong-arm Bersatu and PAS into listening to them.

A major oversight by Gerakan was neglecting a need to infuse the party with young blood with strong leadership material who can match up against the likes of DAP.

Gerakan simply did not have strength in personnel with ample political acumen.

The infighting in the party, due to various reasons since 2008, led to the demise of its core Penang leadership.

Former strongman Teng Chang Yeow quit politics in a huff, taking with him a cadre of leaders. The membership drive of talented young leaders became stagnant.

Lau’s leadership is also bogged by candidates who have never experienced any victory. There was neither a moral compass nor a winning agenda transplanted into the party.

Hence, an uncouth incident happened in the Malaysian political landscape some nights ago, where a video clip clearly depicted a Penang PAS leader shooing away Lau from attending a mega rally in Sg Dua, Tasek Gelugor.

It was likely due to the fact that Lau was given a Malay-dominant seat in Bayan Lepas in Penang to contest with a belief within PN that if it does win the state, there would be at least one Chinese rep to help them populate the state government positions.


Marathon, not sprint

As mentioned earlier, PN is all about winnability; the PAS grassroots felt that they could deliver a win with their own candidate rather than Lau.

But do not underestimate Lau: the 55-year-old was once a state swimmer, one all too familiar with endurance.

His message, when interviewed, was that politics to him is not a sprint but a marathon.

Yet, the timing of his unpleasant encounter with PAS could not come at a worse time, as Gerakan is in the middle of an election battle.

Reacting to the incident, deputy president Oh told a vernacular Chinese newspaper that PAS should have not dished such treatment to Lau, as he is still the PN coalition deputy president.

Oh demanded an explanation, but stopped short of seeking an apology.

In Kelantan, the party’s state elections director Ong Khang Woon cautioned members and observers not to overreact, saying that PAS in Kelantan has no issues with Gerakan.

“For me, PAS is more sincere compared to Umno. We have worked with both,” he said.

While Ong may have attributed it to an individual disagreement, as the saying goes, a picture – or a video clip – tells a thousand words.

Gerakan was right about the need to choose a partner.

Yet, sometimes, in haste, a wrong choice is made, and before they know it, that choice reveals itself to be a marriage of convenience instead of an earnest lifelong commitment. – The Vibes, August 4, 2023



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