POOR GERAKAN – MOUSY, COWARDLY & POWERLESS AS EVER – DESPITE GETTING A ‘GET OUT’ FROM PAS, DOMINIC LAU & CO PRETEND ‘DON’T KNOW’ – ‘WE ARE NOT FIGHTING. GERAKAN HAS NO ISSUE WITH PENANG PAS’
Gerakan should withdraw from polls to protest PAS extremism, says Chow
Penang PH chief Chow Kon Yeow says the PN component party should not wait to act until after the state election.
PETALING JAYA: Penang Pakatan Harapan chief Chow Kon Yeow says Gerakan should withdraw from the Aug 12 state election if it has any self-respect.
“Gerakan should withdraw to protest against PAS’ extremism,” Oriental Daily quoted Chow as saying at a PH event yesterday.
On Tuesday, Gerakan president Dominic Lau was reportedly refused entry to a Perikatan Nasional ceramah by PAS representatives in Sungai Dua, Penang.
Lau has since tried to play down the snub, saying he was there to meet PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang but left when Hadi was delayed.
Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong said all its assemblymen will step down if Penang PN wins the state polls and starts practising extremism.
However, Chow said Gerakan should not wait.
“They should protest, protest right now,” he said, adding that PAS will continue to play up the 3R (race, religion and royalty) issue to appeal to Malay voters.
“Poor Gerakan, it thinks it can balance out PAS in PN. In reality, it’s useless to try.”
Hadi had previously promised non-Malays, especially those in Penang, the Islamic party will not marginalise them if it wins in the Aug 12 state election.
He said DAP and PH have created a tense atmosphere for the election, which is why voters should head to the polls to initiate a “huge” change.
DAP MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid said PAS’ inclusivity claim raised “serious concerns about the party’s political stance and credibility”, following the incident with Lau.
“Despite presenting itself as an inclusive party willing to work in a coalition, its recent actions reveal a significant discrepancy between stated values and actual practices,” the Bukit Bendera MP told FMT. FMT
Lau reportedly asked to leave PN ceramah in Penang
The Gerakan president had reportedly showed up without being invited to the event.
PETALING JAYA: Gerakan president Dominic Lau was reportedly asked to leave a Perikatan Nasional ceramah in Sungai Dua last night after showing up without being invited.
According to Sin Chew, Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong confirmed that the party was not invited to attend the ceramah, which was also attended by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
“As far as I know, this event, which was hosted in a Malay-majority area, was only intended for PAS leaders and members. Their target audience was probably the Malays,” he said.
Oh said Gerakan and PAS had an amicable relationship but the incident had led to grouses from the party’s grassroots.
“In politics, it is normal for party members to voice their dissatisfaction (from time to time),” Oh said.
Lau is PN’s candidate for the Bayan Lepas seat in Penang.
Previously, a group of PAS grassroots members protested against Lau’s candidacy in Bayan Lepas, saying a PAS member should be fielded instead to contest the Malay-majority seat.
Subsequently, PN announced that its presidential council had decided that Lau would be fielded in Bayan Lepas.
Lau has dismissed claims that PAS grassroots were not supporting him, saying some local leaders came to show their support for him on nomination day. FMT
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