National-level EGM to oust Koh?

Some segments in Gerakan are trying to gain support to hold an EGM to remove Koh Tsu Koon as the president.

KOTA BARU: The writing was on the wall!

First, it was a failed attempt by a segment of Gerakan Youth grassroots members in Penang to unseat their long-serving state chairman Dr Teng Hock Nan through an emergency general meeting (EGM) last year at the Pearl of the Orient.

Teng survived the EGM which saw the party’s former president Dr Lim Keng Yaik lambasting his successor Koh Tsu Koon for not attending the extra-ordinary gathering.

Lim’s outburst against his annointed successor became the bigger issue than the actual EGM and as usual, Gerakan leader took an oath of elegant silence when they were under seige.

Now, a small faction from Selangor is apparently seeking for a national-level EGM to oust Koh as president and their attempts are making its rounds in the Chinese vernacular media and through SMSes.

Conveninently, some leaders who preferred not to be named, claimed that Lim is behind this, but it could not come at a worst time.

Several political observers are describing Gerakan, the nation’s first multi-ethnic mainstream party as “politically dead”.

Its secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow, the younger brother of Selangor DAP strongman Teng Chang Khim, was reported as saying that he has yet to receive anything formal from any party divisions about a request for an EGM.

Chang Yeow said it was normal for a small group to be disillussioned as Gerakan was now in the opposition (in Penang and Selangor) before he proceeded to cite the constitutional requirement of a national EGM.

He said it can only be held if it was directed by the president in consultation with the secretary-general, if the central committee approved it or if at least 50% of the divisions wanted it.

It is learnt that the those seeking for an EGM may be embarking on a nationwide roadshow to woo for support but Kelantan-based Gerakan Youth vice-chairman CK Ong doubted there is support for it now.

Blaming the media

Has the passing away of its revered party founder Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu an indication that Gerakan will also suffer a demise politically?

Ong offers his prespective, saying Gerakan remained relevant but it was that the mainstream media that was ignoring the party.

“We are doing many things, making comments, standing up for what we feel are right and we are doing our work as a constructive opposition. It is just that it is not carried by the media.”

Ong said Gerakan was bound to hit many bumps along the way as the party was no longer able to fulfill certain needs or demands by some grassroots personalities. He also admitted that the party was struggling to break loose from a preception that it was conceding too much to Umno.

Still, Ong said it was wrong to rate Gerakan as a “goner”.

He admitted that the party needed to fine-tune its role and there was a need to rejuvenate Gerakan through the influsion of a younger group of leaders in certain states.

Political observer Jason Ong, a Penang born technocrat who now works in a Singaporean think tank, said Gerakan has yet to recover from the massive electoral losses it suffered in the 2008 general election.

Umno was able to rebound a little as certain states under Pakatan Rakyat were somewhat not administered effectively by the latter.

He cited Selangor, Kedah and Perak and this gave room for Umno and MCA to a small extend to leverage on the situation and to exploit the socio-economic issues, which Pakatan is not equipped to handle.

Pakatan’s weaknesses in governance policies and management, allowed the likes of Umno to rebound gradually in those states, he stressed.

In Penang, which used to be Gerakan’s powerbase, Pakatan is performing well and this has restricted the former’s ability to become a credible voice to the issues of alleged misgovernance.

It is simply a matter of circumtances which has driven Gerakan to the corner currently, Jason claimed.

Time to stand tall

Some party leaders also claimed that Koh made tactical mistakes when he accepted a federal ministerial post instead of focusing solely on reviving the party’s fortunes in Penang.

“While Koh focused tirelessly on advocating the key performance indexes (KPI) and national unity, he failed to recognise that his own party is faltering on its own KPI and it is also unable to advocate
national unity or 1Malaysia at the expense of radicalised voices such as the Malay rights group (Perkasa) or Chinese chauvinist groups who are now inclined to support DAP,” said a party leader.

There is also a need to reach out to a group of leaders such as Chang Yeow, vice-president Chia Kwang Chye and a few others to play bigger leadership roles in Penang, they said.

“We may not be able to recapture Penang but if we help Barisan Nasional to deny Pakatan two-thirds in Penang, it is suffice.”

Party leaders have remained quiet since last October’s EGM but now they may have to emerge from their entrenched positions to speak out and to convince everyone, including Umno, that it is ready to reclaim its position as the fourth most senior Barisan partner.