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(March 22,
2008/ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) The Gerakan party, after being
nearly wiped out in the general election, is seeking a
resurrection of sorts tomorrow.
The Barisan
Nasional component party will convene a closed-door briefing for
its 2,000 central delegates at its headquarters here to chart
its future direction. And this soul-searching journey coincides
with Easter Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The meeting is expected to discuss the party's dismal
performance at the elections, garner feedback from grassroots as
well as address other national issues.
Acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon is expected to address
the delegates, after which the floor would be open for all to
voice their views.
In the elections, Gerakan won only two out of 12 parliamentary
seats and lost 27 of 31 state seats contested.
The party also lost its crown jewel - Penang -
to the DAP.
With such a beating at the hands of the opposition, would this
meeting allow the party to heal, learn from its mistakes and
move on?
"Yes," said party secretary-general Datuk Seri Chia Kwang Chye,
who stressed that the Gerakan leadership was taking cognisance
of its members' views.
In recent years, the self-styled "conscience of BN" seemed to
have had its convictions watered down within the coalition, a
fact that Chia admitted.
He felt this led to a lot of national issues not properly
explained to the masses, a weakness which the opposition took
advantage of.
Vice-president Datuk Dr S. Vijayaratnam said the briefing would
help to reinforce confidence among disheartened members.
"We might have lost but the party carries on. It is not the end
of the world and there are the next elections to look forward
to," he said.
Another vice-president, Ng Lip Yong, said the party needed to
formulate its next course of action.
"We did badly in the elections and there is no point in saying
that everything's rosy now." |
