Nothing political, just tradition – Gerakan chief on inviting PM for CNY do

There is no political agenda behind the invitation to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to attend the Gerakan Chinese New Year open house in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday, said its president Dominic Lau.

According to him, Gerakan received a letter from the Prime Minister's Department yesterday confirming Mahathir's attendance.

Asked if this would fuel the political rumour mills or signal Gerakan's intention to be part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition, Lau preferred not to dwell on this at this juncture.

“This is the festive season, we should not dwell on this (at this point). It is Gerakan's tradition to invite the prime minister for its open houses,” he told Malaysiakini this evening.

Lau also said invitations were extended to other political leaders such as BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamid Hamidi and the presidents of Harapan parties, including PKR's Anwar Ibrahim but none of them has responded to date.

“I believe all parties want to see political stability, economic growth, prosperity and the people's well-being taken care of,” he added.

When contacted, Mahathir's aide confirmed the prime minister would be attending. "As of now, yes, he is going," the aide told Malaysiakini.

Gerakan had quit the BN coalition in June 2018, a month after the coalition was defeated in the general election.

The party suffered its first major electoral setback in the 2008 general election when it lost its hold on Penang.

In the last general election, Gerakan failed to win a single parliamentary or state seat and struggles to remain relevant in the Malaysian political landscape.

Two months ago, the party fielded a candidate for the first time since the 2018 polls in the Tanjung Piai by-election in Johor.

Despite securing the third-highest number of votes in the six-way contest, its candidate Wendy Subramaniam trailed far behind the BN and Pakatan Harapan candidates.

The by-election witnessed BN delivering a devastating blow to Harapan after its candidate Wee Jeck Seng from MCA won the seat with a majority of more than 15,000 votes. - Mkini