Rulers or opposition: Gerakan up for any role

The party's Penang vice-chairman says Gerakan has the expertise and the people to run the government or play the role of opposition in the state.

GEORGE TOWN: Gerakan is comfortable playing either the role of the opposition or government in Penang after the outcome of next general election is known.

Its state vice-chairman Wong Mun Hoe said the party has reached a stage where it is comfortable with whatever role the voters would consigned the party to.

“If the people wants us back as government, we have the experience and leaders for it. If we are to remain as opposition, we are also primed for it. We have the desire to be an effective watchdog.”

Whatever the outcome of the next election, Gerakan is ready for most eventualities in Penang, he added.

The most important facet is that the party wants to continue to serve the people here, regardless of the role it has, he said.

Wong said he is confident that the voters here would not reject Gerakan outright in the next election despite what happened in 2008 when the party lost all of the seats it previously held here.

The reason is that whatever Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng may do to berate Barisan Nasional, the people here, especially those who can fondly recall, can appreciate what Gerakan did for Penang.

The party developed Penang into what she is today, a vibrant island full of potential as a regional hub, a place to harness human capital and innovation despite lacking in natural resources like Singapore.

Like in many ways, errors were indirectly committed in the way of governing as nobody was born perfect, but overall, Gerakan has done more good than bad for Penang, Wong summed up.

The party is part and parcel of the Penang framework where whatever good or bad happens here, Gerakan is somehow linked to it, he said.

For the present, he added, Lim seemed to be having the edge in terms of political kinsmanship but in terms of governance, foresight and management, “he cannot compare to Gerakan’s founder and our longest-serving chief minister, the late Dr Lim Chong Eu”.

No matter how loud Lim may shout here, he cannot take away Chong Eu and his party – Gerakan’s legacy to Penang, Wong said.

Blame game

This should score points among the electorate and give the party some hope that it can regain a few seats it lost in 2008, he added.

Even if the voters are not ready to forgive BN, Wong appealed to them to give Gerakan a chance to be their watchdog.

“The principle of check and balance should continue to hold sway in Penang. Do not allow Pakatan Rakyat under Lim, the leverage to rule without any opposition present. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Wong said already, there are signs that Lim has grown rather arrogant or ignorant in his dealings in Penang, with the natural critics such as the mass media bearing the brunt of his anger.

Lim has also indirectly encouraged the state government to lash out against the media fraternity or critics when the latter is just performing its role in society as a watchdog, Wong said.

When the blame game is played excessively, it drags down the ability of the state’s administration to perform efficiently, he said.

It suppresses their need to perform or meet the expectations of the people as for every problem which surfaces here, the easiest way out, is to blame someone else for it, Wong said.

“Lim is doing exactly that,” he claimed.