Gerakan vows strong fight in Penang

Despite being trounced in the last polls, Gerakan promises to give DAP and its Pakatan allies a run for their money.

GEORGE TOWN: Trounced in 2008 after helming the state government for 39 years, Gerakan is determined to give DAP and its partners a run for their money in the coming general election.

But Gerakan leaders are cautiously avoiding counting their chicks before being hatched.

Whatever the election outcome is, Gerakan state treasurer Ng Fook On promised that his party and Barisan Nasional were ready to give DAP and its Pakatan Rakyat allies a tough electoral battle.

He said both BN and Pakatan leaders know that it would be a close fight for both sides in Penang.

He cautioned that both sides cannot be complacent and sit on their laurels thinking that “we have won it.”

“Gerakan and BN will give a strong fight until the end. Both sides cannot be sure of victory until the last vote has been counted,” he told FMT.

Penang has been Gerakan’s political fortress since 1969 until the last 2008 general election, in which the party lost in all four federal and 13 state seats it contested in this island state.

Under BN’s electoral formula, Gerakan will contest the Tanjung, Bukit Bendera, Jelutong and Batu Kawan federal seats.

Its state seats on the island are Padang Kota (Tanjung); Pulau Tikus, Tanjung Bungah and Kebun Bunga (Bukit Bendera); Batu Lanchang, Datuk Keramat and Sungai Pinang (Jelutong); Batu Uban and Pantai Jerejak (Bayan Baru), and Air Itam (Bukit Gelugor).

On the mainland, the ex-ruling party will contest in Bukit Tambun and Bukit Tengah (Batu Kawan); and Machang Bubok (Bukit Mertajam).

In 2008, the people’s enthusiasm to vote for change was so strong that even out-going chief minister and Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon lost in Batu Kawan against political novice and electoral debutant P Ramasamy from DAP.

After initially stunned into a temporary coma by the devastating electoral debacle in 2008, Gerakan leaders are now pulling themselves together and mobilising whatever support they could get from electorates to make strong comeback.

Silently confident

Having learnt its lessons and revitalised by nurturing credible political talents, the party is silently confident of making inroads in this island-state.

“We have a chance to win some seats,” said Ng, rating his party and BN’s chances at 50-50.

“It’s a round ball game in every election … each having equal chance to win. With the right winnable candidates, strategies and manifesto, we can do better than in 2008,” said the former Batu Lanchang assemblyman.

He said he could sense that this time Chinese support to Pakatan “seems not as high as 2008” although he does not believe it would be enough to win Gerakan some Chinese-majority seats.

He readily admitted that Gerakan has a better fighting chance to recapture lost ethnically-mixed state constituencies such as Pantai Jerejak, Sungai Pinang, Datuk Keramat, Machang Bubok, Bukit Tambun and Tanjung Bungah.

“Gerakan has a good chance to win in a constituency with some 40% non-Chinese voters,” Ng claimed.