Sunday August 17, 2008 MYT 5:39:37 PM

Gerakan to discuss pulling out of Barisan in October

By HAH FOONG LIAN

IPOH: Perak Gerakan wants the party to pull out of Barisan Nasional in view of the coalition leaders adopting a political culture that garners support only from particular communities.

Making the proposal at the state delegates' conference Sunday, Perak Gerakan chief Datuk Chang Ko Youn said about 80% of the delegates agreed with the issue.

However, he said, there was a need to discuss the matter of whether the party would pull out or remain in Barisan at the coming national delegates conference (NDC) in October.

Chang said many of the Perak delegates were unhappy with the recent trend of politicking that had emerged in the country over the past five months.

"We still see politicians playing race and religious issues and this is not good for the country," said Chang who was re-elected Perak Gerakan chief after thrashing his opponent Liew Yiew Aw with a 175-vote majority.

"Such ways cannot be accepted by members of Gerakan which practises a non-racial and non-religious approach," he said.

Previously, he said, the members did not have such feelings of dissatisfaction because their emotions and views were under control and they were able to overcome some of the problems of Barisan and the Government.

Since the March 8 polls, he said, there emerged a new trend and many members felt the need to debate the issue of pulling out of Barisan or remaining within the coalition.

"As this is the first state to hold its conference, we will have to find out the mood among delegates of other states," said Chang, who is also Gerakan vice-president.

Perak Gerakan Wanita chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe said party leaders had been closely monitoring the situation and the performance of Barisan leaders who had been using racial and religious issues to garner support from their members.

"This is not healthy for the country. It has created dissatisfaction among the grassroots and we are considering how such matters could affect us in Gerakan," said Tan, who is also national Gerakan Wanita chief.

Initial feedback from the delegates, she said, was that they were dissatisfied with Barisan leaders who used racial issues to garner support from their members.

In an immediate reaction, secretary-general Datuk Seri Chia Kwang Chye said there had been discussions about pulling out of Barisan after the March 8 polls. On whether he would be obtaining more feedback on the issue from members of other states, he said:

"No. This is a Perak matter and we have to wait for Perak to put in its resolution formally for discussion at the central level."

Earlier when opening the Perak delegates' conference, acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said Barisan and Pakatan Rakyat must stop destabilising country with talk of changes in governments.

As a country that practised parliamentary democracy, they should allow the administration to perform and the people could later decide who they wanted to stay in power in the next general election.

"That is healthy positive competition. The window of opportunity should not be a window of opportunism for both sides," he added.