Gerakan shakes: Divisions emerge to slam Keng Yaik old, senile

Keng Yaik - given a dose of his own medicine!

Malaysia Chronicle

An all-out fight appears to be shaping up in Gerakan, with its FT division using harsh words like "old" and "senile" to describe former president Lim Keng Yaik despite efforts by the party’s top leadership to contain the fallout by rejecting Keng Yaik’s shock resignation tendered earlier this week.

The FT fight-back lends credence to talk of an under-the-surface power tussle aimed at dislodging current president Koh Tsu Koon, who has been publicly scolded by Keng Yaik for weak leadership and subservience to BN boss, Umno.

“This validates what we have been saying that there is more than meets the eye in Gerakan. They like to hammer the opposition politicians as being in disarray. Now, let Malaysians see for themselves, how ugly the fighting in Gerakan actually is,” PKR vice president Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.

MCA, MIC, Umno, now Gerakan

Last year, another BN component party MCA had dominated the headlines following an out-of-control brawl between Ong Tee Keat and Chua Soi Lek, who were then party president and deputy president respectively. A controversial extraordinary general meeting was held on October 10, 2009, that ultimately resulted in a special vote that saw Tee Keat ousted.

Koh - dazed by Lim's attack

In the past months, within Umno itself, Prime Minister Najib Razak has tried to shut out the right-wing conservatives in his party led by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin and influential former premier Mahathir Mohamad. However, he failed in his efforts and had to make an embarrassing U-turn on a decision to ostracize ultra-Malay rights group Perkasa from Umno.

Meanwhile, in Gerakan, a group calling themselves Gerakanlah Gerakanhas been trying to table a vote of no-confidence against the lack-lustre Tsu Koon. His refusal to speak up for his party and the mostly non-Malay electorate that it represents has been blamed as being one of main causes for the Gerakan's fatal loss of voter-support.

Tsu Koon has even been accused of putting top priority on his Cabinet post at the expense of speaking up against Umno on critical issues, especially relating to Perkasa and ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy - two issues of major importance to the non-Malay communities. His party managed to win only 2 parliamentary seats in the 2008 general election and Koh himself lost badly to relative newcomers fielded by the opposition.

Tak boleh pakai (cannot be used)

On Wednesday, the FT Gerakan division showed its support for Tsu Koon and gave Keng Yaik a tongue lashing. Their behaviour contrasted with the Gerakan central committee meeting on Tuesday night, which had rejected Keng Yaik’s resignation.

Pundits say Tsu Koon, even though his pride may now be assuaged, could find it even tougher to come up with a solution. To conciliate Keng Yaik, he had been expected to U-turn on a decision not to attend a Penang Gerakan EGM on October 10, where a no-confidence vote against state chief Teng Hock Nan is due to be tabled.

“Possibly, Tun Lim is getting too old now so his methods cannot ‘pakai’ (be used) anymore,” Malaysian Insider reported FT Gerakan treasurer Alan Chan Fui Gan as saying.

“He should let the president rule. We are facing changing times now, communication methods are different.”