Will Sabah ‘save’ Gerakan from oblivion?

After its second dismal showing in the national polls recently, Gerakan is widely seen as heading for extinction , or is it?

PETALING JAYA: After a dismal performance in the polls , Gerakan mulls its future and Sabah is emerging as its “savior”.

The May 5 general elections saw Gerakan all but wiped out.  It retained only one parliamentary  and three state seats.

Two of these state victories came from Sabah Gerakan candidates Raymond Tan and Au Kam Wah in Tanjung Papat and Elopura respectively.

Aside from the two seats, Gerakan contested in 11 parliamentary and 27 state constituencies.

The 100% victory in Sabah has placed the state Gerakan in a pole position for a bigger role in the party and its elections later in the year.  Gerakan’s nationwide branch-level polls  began on Wednesday.

Gerakan national elections supervisory committee chairman Chin Fook Weng when contacted yesterday described Sabah as its “new frontier”.

“Sabah is our new frontier, a lot of people have come in (to the party). A lot of them will definitely contest for a post this time,” he said adding that the state presented the party with opportunities and hope.

Gerakan, which kicked off its elections at the branch level by issuing notice for nominations, is expected to hold these elections on June 23.

This will be followed by divisional and later national level party polls which will be on Oct 26  Its national delegates will then elect the new party president and central committee (CC) members in Kuala Lumpur.

Once a formidable political force in Peninsular, Gerakan lost its almost 40 year grip on Penang in the 2008 general election and has not recovered since.

It failed to recapture Penang in the recent May 5 polls. Worse, none of its  senior leaders who contested in the Peninsular Malaysia won their seats.

Gerakan expanding in Sabah

The sole torchbearer was deputy secretary-general Liang Teck Meng who captured the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat in Johor.

Across the South China Sea, Tan and Au, who defected from local opposition Sabah Progressive Peoples Party (SAPP) to join Gerakan in 2009 after the former pulled out of the Sabah BN coalition, have presented the dispirited party with new possibilities.

Both Tan and Au retained their Tanjung Papat and Elopura seats with a 1,522 and  251 vote majority respectively.

Also in Sabah Gerakan is former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader and deputy chief minister Peter Pang.

Athough he joined Gerakan in 2010, Pang was not fielded in his Karamunting state seat.

The victories, though minor when compared with other political parties with the BN coalition, is meaningful to Gerakan, which is striving to remain relevant in the fast-changing Malaysia political climate.

In fact, Gerakan former president Koh Tsu Koon when announcing that the party’s decision to shun government positions after the May 5 polls, had excluded the Sabah elected representative from this directive.

This allowed Tan to return to the state cabinet as Sabah deputy chief minister against a backdrop of an expanding Gerakan influence there.

Sabah Gerakan chief Gordon Leong told FMT that the party’s influence in Sabah had heightened following the entry of  Tan, Au and Pang.

“More branches have been formed, the membership drive is very encouraging. We have more than 20,000 members in Sabah now,” he said.

100% victory

He said the 100% victory by Gerakan member candidates was a much needed boost for the party.

“For the first time in GE13, we have two members who contested under BN banner and won both seats. It was 100% victory.

“This shows that it doesn’t matter whether you are from a national or local party, the people will vote for you as long as you can serve them,” he added.

However, he declined to comment on whether such expansions would be reflected in the party’s national elections.

When pushed on the prospects of Sabah Gerakan leaders challenging top posts in the coming elections, Leong said it is up to the individual’s to decide.

He pointed out that Sabah Gerakan had always been represented in the party’s central leadership.

He said Tan was the national vice-president and five other Sabah leaders including himself were part of  Gerakan’s 37 Central Committee members.

With Gerakan now having gained a strong foothold in the state, the October party elections may see its Sabah leaders muscling in for a bigger role in the party, especially now that their colleagues in Peninsular Malaysia are in a vulnerable position.