Gerakan support for Muhyiddin in interest of nation, people - Lau

Gerakan decided to support the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin after "looking at the big picture" with regards to the nation, said its president Dominic Lau.

Speaking during an online press conference this morning, Lau (above) said that Gerakan wanted to ensure the stability of the government as the country was facing a trying time due to the Covid-19 pandemic and an economic recession.

"The country is currently facing the rigorous challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and also the economic recession. As such, Malaysia should maintain political stability for economic recovery and to fight the pandemic."

"We should focus on revitalising the economy and caring about the well-being of the rakyat instead of being involving in political fights to change the government."

"For the sake of the country and in the interest of the rakyat, Gerakan decided to unanimously support the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin," Lau said.

Citing the implementation of movement control order (MCO) and Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin), Lau described Muhyiddin's performance as "satisfying".

"As a responsible and professional political party, we urge the rakyat to fully support the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin."

Asked about his opinion on PN's attempts to bring down the Pakatan Harapan administration in Kedah, Lau answered that Gerakan was not involved in such attempts as they had no representatives in the state at all.

"We are not the ones bringing down the Kedah government, we don't have any MP or assemblyperson there. I think we should focus more on the economy and the fight against Covid-19," said Lau.

For the record, prior to the "Sheraton Move" in February, Gerakan had held an emergency meeting to discuss, among others, whether to accept membership applications from then PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and his followers.

The Sheraton Move refers to the gathering of 11 rogue PKR MPs led by Azmin, the MP for Gombak, together with MPs from Bersatu, BN, PAS, GPS and Warisan at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya on Feb 23 after a day of political manoeuvres which later led to the ouster of the Harapan government by a new coalition dubbed Perikatan Nasional.

PN leaders with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong

Announcing their support for PN today two months after it came to power, Lau was asked if the party was prepared to accept defecting PKR MPs aligned to Azmin in the near future.

He reiterated his stand that Gerakan welcomed anyone who shared their ideology to join the party.

Lau also pointed out that Gerakan did not rule out the possibility of collaboration with other political parties as long as their ideology was coherent. “Our principles and direction are always in the interest of the rakyat," he added.

PN is primarily made up of Malay-dominant parties Bersatu, Umno, PAS and Azmin's faction.

The political alliance seized power in March 2020 after gaining the support of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Bersatu Sabah (GBS).

Lau stressed that Gerakan still upheld their multi-religious, multicultural and multiracial principles and he believed that a moderate approach was the best for the country.

"Everybody can fight for their own race, religion or culture but our basic principle is that while you are fighting for your rights, don't affect other races, cultures or religions."

"This is the basic principle that Gerakan will hold on to forever," said Lau.

Gerakan was founded in 1986 and won Penang in the 1969 elections before it joined the then Alliance in the 1970s which later became Barisan Nasional (BN).

It was the ruling party in Penang for nearly four decades from 1969 to 2008. The party suffered a huge defeat in the 2008 general election, sliding down to zero seats won in the 2018 general election. - Mkini