Anger grows against ‘selfish’ Gerakan boss

As anger mounts, there is a possibility that an EGM may be called to knock out Koh Tsu Koon from the top post.

TAIPING: There is growing resentment among Gerakan members towards their president Koh Tsu Koon and an emergency general meeting may be called to remove him.

Former party youth vice-chief S Paranjothy said several party leaders told him that Koh must be axed to save the sinking Gerakan.

The Taman Ehsan branch chief claimed that the president was more interested in safeguarding his own political position in the federal government and had ignored the problems in the party.

Paranjothi recalled how former party chief Dr Lim Keng Yaik had advised Koh to concentrate on building the party at the state level in Penang.

“But Koh was too ambitious and went for the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat to shine at the federal level. He lost the seat to DAP’s P Ramasamy in the 2008 general election,” he said.

Paranjothy also accused Koh of failing to live up to expectations during his tenure as chief minister of Penang and warned that if not reformed, Gerakan would become irrelevant in Malaysian politics.

‘Yes man and self-centred’

He listed the president’s shortcomings as:

> He is a “yes-man” who does not want to offend other Barisan Nasional component parties because he wants to be in the good books of other leaders.

> He supports and promotes the 1Malaysia concept but does not practice this concept in his own party.

> He never supports the views and issues raised by Youth and Wanita leaders.

> Till today, he has not disclosed any strategies to win back Penang from Pakatan Rakyat in the coming polls.

> He sidelined capable senior party members and allowed those from other political parties to be parachuted into top-level posts.

> He does not want to get involved in finding solutions for the internal turmoil in Gerakan state chapters such as Johor, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang and Malacca.

> In his desperate attempt to be a federal minister, Koh did not play his role as party chief to choose the leader to replace him as chief minister (before the 2008 polls), and left the decision to the prime minister. This angered a lot of party members.

> He accepted a ministerial post through the back door instead of offering it to more experienced and senior leaders like former Simpang Renggam MP Kerk Choo Ting and former Batu MP Ng Lip Yong who were denied seats in the 2008 general election.

> He greedily holds on to many political posts given to the party, without sharing them with other leaders.

“He is power crazy for promoting himself at the expense of the party and failing to realise that without Gerakan, he is a nobody,” said Paranjothy.

“Furthermore, he is not fit to be the president of a multi-ethnic party like Gerakan and is merely using the party to promote himself,” he said, adding that Koh’s “self-centred” attitude had demoralised the grassroots.

Paranjothy said that the rebel camp had identified the leader to replace Koh, but would not name the person now for fear of reprisal.

An aide to Koh declined to comment, adding that it was not Koh’s style to address party issues in the open.