Gerakan, PPP not following MCA’s cabinet pledge

The two BN component parties have no intention to emulate MCA in making pledge to decline cabinet positions should they fare worst in the coming GE.

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would not follow MCA’s footstep to decline cabinet positions should the two parties fare worst in the coming general election as compared to 2008.

Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon and PPP president M Kayveas said such pledge was not suitable for their parties due to the parties’ political position.

They told reporters about this when met after attending  the 59th MCA Annual General Assembly meeting at Wisma MCA here today.

Koh, whose party is the second largest Chinese-based party in BN after MCA, said there was no need for him to make such a pledge.

“We only won two out of 12 parliamentary seats that we contested (in the last GE). If we did worse than that, what do you think is the obvious conclusion?

“We don’t have to say that (as to pledge to decline cabinet posts). If we get less than two seats (in the coming GE), our role would be extremely irrelevant,” he said.

The last GE has seen Gerakan hit with a huge setback where it lost its long-time control in Penang to DAP.

Meanwhile, Kayveas said PPP was also not interested in making such a pledge because they would not be offered any cabinet positions in the first place, should the party fare worst.

“For us it’s simple, if we don’t win, I don’t think we are going to get any positions. MCA are getting second most seats after Umno, but it may be applicable to them, but not to us,” he said.

He also revealed that PPP would contest two parliamentary seats and two state seats in the coming GE.

“But we are looking at two more parliament seats and four more state seats,” he added.