Gerakan to work out no-contest compromise

Chang Ko Youn says he will be talking terms with other potential contenders of Gerakan top posts in the next three days to allow certain posts to be assumed uncontested.

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan acting president Chang Ko Youn said he will be negotiating with other potential contenders of the party’s top two leadership posts in the next three days to avoid challenges to the posts.

“I will be talking to them in the next three days, if we can reach a consensus then good, if not then we have no choice but to contest against each other,” he told reporters after a media conference today.

Amid looming party elections this Oct 26, he said he knows there are two individuals interested in the Gerakan presidency, and that Gerakan complaint bureau chief Lau Hoi Keong has also announced his intention to contest for deputy president post.

He declined to elaborate whether he was among the two individuals.

Neither did he confirm whether the two individuals were Penang Gerakan chief Teng Chang Yeow and vice president Chia Kwang Chye, whom, rumours say, are gunning for the president’s post.

Tight-lipped over his own party elections plan, Chang said he would only make a decision after the said meeting.

The former Perak Gerakan chief first mooted the no-contest proposal for the top two posts on Sunday when he chaired the Perak Gerakan state elections. The proposal is modeled after Umno whereby the party’s top two posts were retained unopposed.

He said the reason behind a no-contest proposal was because he foresaw an intense fight in the party elections, and the fallout would be hard to manage.

BN’s consensus on issues
Meanwhile, Chang said he has observed a lack of consistency among BN component parties on certain issues of late and he urged the BN leadership to have more frequent meetings.

He said instead of holding meetings every once in a while like now, leaders from BN component parties should meet every month or when controversial issues crop up.

“For example the (Bahasa Malaysia version of) Holy Bible issue, by right we should have called for an emergency meeting to reach a common stance instead of letting it be debated openly.

“Once you have different leaders saying different things, it is very hard to close the issue,” he said.

He also said that BN as the ruling coalition should make collective decisions and be more democratic.

“Now it is very much Umno-dominant, which is inevitable because they are the largest party.  The government policies should reflect consensus from the component parties. Since you say the government is BN, you cannot leave other component parties out from policy-formulating,” he said.

On Gerakan, he said the party should go back to its founding principles as a party that champions the rights of workers, trade unions and equitable distribution of resources.

“The party seems to have deviated from its original struggle, maybe because of economic development or political scenarios,” he said.

Asked whether he meant Gerakan should learn a tip or two from Parti Sosialis Malaysia in assisting the workers and the underprivileged, he said he merely raised the principles that were contained in Gerakan’s constitution.

Asked again whether Gerakan should assist the Kampung Hakka villagers in Mantin whose homes were on the verge of being demolished due to land disputes, he said Gerakan will definitely step in and provide necessary assistance if needed.