‘Hammer final nail into Gerakan’s coffin’

A DAP leader urges Penangites to bring the curtain down for Gerakan in the next general election.

GEORGE TOWN: A DAP assemblyman has urged Penangites to hammer the final nail into Gerakan’s coffin in the next general election.

Bagan Dalam state representative A Tanasekharan said the people of Penang correctly voted out the Gerakan-led state Barisan Nasional government in the last general election.

“I believe Gerakan under the present leadership will not survive after the 13th general election. The people of Penang shall drive the last nail into Gerakan’s coffin,” he told FMT today.

Under previous chief minister Koh Tsu Koon, he said Gerakan lost touch with the needs of the people.

Tanasekharan accused Koh of being an Umno stooge during his 18-year tenure (1990-2008) as chief minister.

“Koh had no power because Umno always had the final say. Penangites correctly got rid-off Gerakan and company in 2008 and in the next election, they will bid farewell to Gerakan for good,” he said.

Gerakan was formed in 1968 with a multi-racial pro-tem central committee comprising six ethnic Malays and Chinese and three ethnic Indians under Prof Syed Hussain Alatas’ chairmanship.

Tanasekharan said Gerakan then gave hope to all Malaysians of a new era based on a multi-racial political platform in contrast to the Alliance coalition comprising Umno, MCA and MIC.

“An excitement was generated by the coming together of great minds to mould the nation’s future political landscape,” he noted.

As a result, Penang fell to Gerakan in the 1969 general election. But, the people’s hopes and joy were short lived.

In the post-1969 election period, recalled the DAP politician, betrayal and desertion within Gerakan prevailed as prominent leaders left the party and Dr Lim Chong Eu took over the leadership.

He said after Gerakan joined Alliance’s successor Barisan Nasional, the party’s influence was restricted to Penang.

Tanasekharan acknowledged that Lim transformed Penang from a mere tropical village-type island into an urbanised industrial hub.

The rot started with Tsu Koon

But he said the rot began with Koh who became chief minister unexpectedly after Lim lost in the 1990 general election to DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang.

Tanasekharan said Koh failed to show any vision, political intelligence and political will during his tenure.

Under Gerakan, especially during Koh’s administration, he said the Indian population in Penang suffered the most.

He said Gerakan was initially supposed to fight for justice, equality of all Malaysians and bring prosperity to the poor.

However, he said the party lost sight of its original objectives, and served only the demands of the rich and elites among politicians, developers and businessmen.

He pointedly noted that in its quest to help local developers, the Gerakan-led BN government wiped out many Indian settlements on Penang island such as Palani Taan in Sungai Pinang.

Due to rapid urbanisation and destruction of these settlements, he said the Indian population became scattered and many moved to mainland Seberang Perai to start a new life.

He said the poor Indians, who depended on civil service employment, especially in local councils and state government-linked companies, were virtually shut off from government jobs.

When this happened, he said, Indians were also deprived of many benefits that came with government employment, such as housing, pensions, medical benefits and low-interest loans.

He said Indians completely lost out in government jobs because Koh was subservient to Umno, which dominated the state BN government with the most state assembly seats.

“It is now left to the Pakatan Rakyat government to correct the imbalance,” he said.