SHAMELESS? ONLY one seat in Parliament, yet Gerakan to FIGHT for more govt posts

KUALA LUMPUR - Gerakan Rakyat president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said without government posts, it would be difficult for party leaders to serve the community. As such, he said he would talk to the prime minister to fight for government posts for party leaders, including the only member of Parliament from the party Simpang Renggam MP Liang Teck Meng

The newly elected Gerakan Rakyat president said during an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily that the party had not given up hope and would do its best to solve the people's problems.

He said the party was resolved to improve itself and hoped the voters would give it a chance to fight for the right of the Chinese community.

Gerakan Rakyat has never stated its stand whether or not to accept government posts, and based on the record from the past three general elections, the party would have at least one minister in the federal Cabinet.

Refuting the claims of infighting within Pakatan Penang, Mah said he remained confident of the leadership of the state chairman Teng Chang Yeow, adding that Penang was of extraordinary significance to the party and he did not want to see the complete flop of the party as in the past two general elections.

"We will review and explore new strategies but most importantly we need to convince the people in Penang to at lest allow Gerakan reps to act as watchdog in the state assembly.

Not sinking yet

Meanwhile, Mah said there were weaknesses within the party and that the party admitted this and would face it humbly.

He pointed out that the future of Gerakan Rakyat was still promising, and the new leadership would explore the weaknesses and make amends in order to win back the voters' hearts.

Mah nevertheless did not agree that Gerakan was a sinking bot although he admitted there were many loopholes in the boat that needed to be patched up urgently.

"MCA president Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek said his party would go down like Gerakan if it were to be led by Liow Tiong Lai. As a matter of fact, I don't want Gerakan to be like either MCA or DAP."

He said Gerakan would continue to act fearlessly against irregularities, be they from other BN component parties or the opposition.

He said each BN component party had its own role to play, and that Gerakan needed not to appear "humbled" just because it did not perform up to the mark in GE13. Instead he said the party would continue to fight for what is right for the sake of the nation and people.

"While we accept Umno as the big brother in BN, the big brother must also take care and listen to the views of the small brothers if it were to earn the respect of others."

Cracks

Mah told Sin Chew Daily there were indeed cracks among party members after the recent party elections, but there was no rift between party leaders and candidates despite the fierce competition.

He urged party members to put all the squabble behind now that the party elections are over.

He pointed out that it was essential for the party to have younger leaders if it were to perform better in the next general elections, adding that he would set a target of at least 70% of GE candidates to be below 50 years of age. In GE13, almost half of the 42 candidates fielded by the party were over 50 years of age.

Meanwhile, Mah also urged the government to step up its effort to battle corruption in a bid to convince the public and to avert the negative impression the public have on the government.

Citing the example of the Attorney-General's Report, he said although many incidents of mishandling of funds were revealed year after year, no erring public servants have so far been dismissed or charged in a court.

"Civil servants involved are only transferred to other departments and this is unconvincing."

He said although the government had put in place numerous austerity measures to boost the national coffers, the public would continue to feel disgruntled if corruption and misappropriation of public funds were not checked.

He proposed that the government review the existing laws to give the MACC more power to ensure its independence.

He said corruption cases and scandals never happened when Gerakan was helming the Penang state government during the four decades from 1969 to 2008, adding that the party was a clean party and no party leaders or members had received anything profitable from the party.

mysinchew