Andy Yong vying for Gerakan's top post, names Oh as his No.2

Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong Kim Seng (photo) today announced that he will contest for the party president post in the upcoming party polls.

At a press conference today along with 10 Gerakan members, he also said that the party’s Penang chairperson Oh Tong Keong will be running for the deputy president post, as one of his team members.

Surprisingly, Oh was also the running mate of the incumbent Gerakan vice-president Dominic Lau, who had announced two days ago that he is vying for the president post.

However, Oh was not present at the press conference this afternoon, which was held at the party’s Kuala Lumpur headquarters.

When asked on why Oh was included in both camps, Yong simply said that he is a candidate that both camps agree on.

Meanwhile, Yong added that another four persons from his team will contest for the vice-president posts.

They are the party’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau head Baljit Singh, Raja Sara Petra - the daughter of blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Johor Gerakan vice-secretary Yap Yeen Min and Penang Gerakan publicity bureau chief Ooi Zhi Yi.

Ooi will be contesting for the party’s youth chief and will be elected as vice-president once he wins.

Gerakan currently has about 300,000 members and 2,099 central delegates.

Political scene

The party nominations will be held tomorrow from 10am to noon, and its national delegates conference is slated for Nov 17.

Yong said that his aim is to rebuild the capability and capacity of Gerakan as an independent political party in line with the latest political scene.

“We will ensure to make Gerakan an independent party or third force which remains proactive and prominent in Malaysian politics at all levels.

“We will prove that Gerakan is not only formidable in ideas, but we are equally bold and pragmatic in actions,” he added.

He also highlighted his manifesto and plans for the party, which are:

To rebuild Gerakan as a credible and strong party, be it as an independent or third force;

• To rebuild and cultivate the culture of knowledge especially on Gerakan leader’s intellectual capability;
• To defend the sanctity of the Federal Constitution at all cost in the interest of Malaysians of all races and uphold the true spirit of multi-culturism;
• To form a special task force to monitor the policies and actions of the government of the day; and
• To establish an independent body to improve the party’s financial standing and methods to assist members.

While referring to the third item in his manifesto, Yong added that he believes many people do not fully understand the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) - including himself.

“I found that a lot of Malaysians don’t understand this; if you went to the demonstration last week and asked the protesters, certainly they wouldn’t know why they were against it too.

“However, I don’t think that acknowledging Icerd will jeopardise the nation’s rights or bumiputera’s rights as they are protected under our Federal Constitution,” he said. - Mkini