Chong Eu's passing: What had Gerakan learned?

Before we go further into this topic, we would like to send our deepest heartfelt condolence to the family of the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu. The statesman shall be remembered as the person who had brought Penang up to the current stage.

He can considered as the Father of the Penang State. No one and not even those current leaders of Gerakan could well emulate his leadership and skills.

It has been a very sad moment to observe that the late Dr Lim was not able to see Gerakan regain its strength after the party was summarily defeated in the last general election in 2008, where the party was swept aside by the voters to make way for the DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat to form the new state government.

So, what had Gerakan learned so far? Back to basics, what basics? When and how? This question has been asked by many of its party members after the party suffered its worst ever defeat in March 2008.

Gerakan's ideology and concept: Bangsa Malaysia. The party had failed to defend its concept while still in the Barisan Nasional fold because of stiff opposition from the dominant party in the coalition, Umno.

And there goes, still the same way. Gerakan is still a subservient party to Umno. Even worst now, as many Umno leaders had kept on attacking or taking advantage on Gerakan because of its current weakening position, they lost Penang to Pakatan, they had lost most of their parliamentary and state seats, they party only regain their ministerial post through back door appointment of its party president as a senator.

Until now, we see Gerakan is still searching for some reason that caused its defeat in the previous general election and they have yet to find the solution to their party's weakness.

Gerakan's reformers and young leaders are still being prevented from speaking up and their resentments were silenced by the top party leaders very often citing them as indiscipline and rebellion. Just look at what happened recent in Penang Gerakan. Its state liaison chairman Dr Teng Hock Nan was nearly topple by a group of party grassroots and leaders who wanted the state party leader to step aside in favour of the younger generations.

As the result, many of prominent Gerakan leaders left the party because the party had remained tied to themselves unable to move forward and change. It seems to be unable to go forward and preferred to stay where it is i.e. status quo.

What had today's Gerakan leaders learned from the late Dr Lim Chong Eu, the party's founder. Gerakan's fight for a multiracial Malaysian Malaysia for our nation has not being seriously looked into by the party's current leaders.

The late Dr Lim had once said, "being a Malaysian First does not mean you will become less Malay or less Chinese". We support his words and we shall hold his words firmly in our heart. Malaysian First is our priority to achieve national unity.

Has Gerakan rework its strategy in order to project its Bangsa Malaysia concept successfully? If they are not able to get their Bangsa Malaysia across the Umno dominated Barisan Nasional, why are they still with the coalition? Their fight had proven to be powerless.

Staying in the coalition just because their leaders wanted to jostle with the ministerial and deputy minister's positions? Yeah, we saw that too. They are staying with the Barisan Nasional because of position, power and fame, not for the Gerakan members.

If they are really for the people, if they are really for Bangsa Malaysia, they would have come up hard on Umno from the beginning but they didn't do so. Prior to the 2008 general election, the then Penang chief minister and Gerakan president Dr Koh Tsu Koon cannot even protect the Kuan Yin's legacy in the Kek Lok Si Temple from Umno's supremacist attack.

Chong Eu's Gerakan had long gone. It is no more the Parti Gerakan of the 1968 era when he founded to fight for the Malaysian principle. Gerakan have yet to learn from its mistake, and its leaders had gravely disappointed their founder.

May you Rest in Peace, Dr Lim!