With former president Mah Siew Keong sitting out the party election, Gerakan is set to be led by a new president, with incumbent vice-president Dominic Lau and incumbent deputy youth chief Andy Yong vying for the top post.
This was announced by national election supervisory committee chairperson Chin Fook Weng today, following the nomination process at the party's Kuala Lumpur headquarters.
Besides Mah, outgoing Youth chief Tan Keng Liang and Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe are not contesting any posts in the Nov 17 party election.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Lau said he hoped for a “friendly fight” with Yong, adding that both had different styles of leadership.
“In Gerakan we are multiracial; it is important that you can speak three languages. Speaking in Mandarin is not a problem for me.
“Another strength is I always go down to the ground, I always listen to the people, I always listen to the members.
"Not many political party leaders are willing to do so because it’s a tough job, especially when we have 300,000 members,” he said when asked about his advantages over his contender.
Yong, meanwhile, admitted that he was not as fluent in Mandarin as Lau, but said his experience as a lawyer and in human rights activism would give him an edge.
“I will give an analogy (and compare us) to our previous presidents – the late Lim Keng Yaik and Koh Tsu Koon.
“By saying so, I don’t mean one of them is good and the other is no good... but I want delegates to think (about) what type of leader they want,” Yong added.
The candidates for Gerakan deputy president are its Penang chairperson Oh Tong Keong and incumbent vice-president A Kohilan Pillay, while eight candidates will vie for the three vice-president posts up for grabs.
They are Baljit Singh, G Parameswaran, Syed Abdul Razak Syed Long Alsagoff, V Prabagaran, Koo Shiaw Lee, Choong Vee Hing, Yap Yeen Min and Raja Sara Raja Petra, the daughter of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin.
The 18 spots on the central committee received 36 nominations, a record for the party.
Women’s wing uncontested
All positions for the women’s wing were uncontested.
The new Wanita Gerakan chief is Janice Wong (photo) while her deputy is Raja Sara. The three vice-chiefs are Soh Hon Lee, Ooi Pei Nar and Yong Fui Leng.
All 18 who contested to be committee members were also elected.
The post of Youth chief will see a showdown between incumbent federal youth committee member Ooi Zhi Yee and Johor Gerakan committee member Chew Teik Thye.
With nominations over, candidates now have one week to campaign before delegates cast their votes.
Meant to be held every three years, the previous Gerakan election was held in 2013 and subsequently postponed to prepare for the 14th general election. - Mkini
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