GERAKAN’S grand aim of winning back Penang from the hands of Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the coming state elections will not happen, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy said this morning.

According to Ramasamy, Gerakan and its president Dominic Lau’s hope for a political comeback in Penang is little more than a hallucination.

“Gerakan, a party that has no promising future, seems to think big in anticipation of the next state elections.

“Lau thinks with the right mix of strategy and good luck, Gerakan can make a difference in Penang, and take on DAP.

“We were responsible for ousting Gerakan’s dominance in Penang about 15 years ago.

“Given the racially and religiously polarised atmosphere, I really wonder whether Lau is hallucinating,” Ramasamy said in a statement.

Lau, in an interview with The Malaysian Insight, said Gerakan – now part of Perikatan Nasional (PN) – believes the time is now ripe for the party to knock DAP off its pedestal and reclaim the state.

Lau said the party, even though it failed to win a single seat in the past two general elections, has “the concept, strategy and talent” to rule Penang again.

Gerakan governed Penang for 39 years between 1969 and 2008. Since then, the state has been in the hands of PH, having become a DAP stronghold.

Ramasamy said the recent general election showed that non-Malays have gravitated to PH or to other parties in the unity government.

This, he said, was largely due to PN’s religious extremism, especially by Islamist party PAS.

“Given this, I wonder how Gerakan could endear itself to non-Malay voters, especially in Penang.

“Nostalgia on Lau’s part – to return to the good old days – might not be sufficient reason for the party to relive its past glory,” he said.

Ramasamy also said that Penang voters might remember Gerakan for the wrong reasons, especially those reasons that contributed to the rejection of the party, largely due to its association with Barisan Nasional.

Now, he said, Gerakan is on the wrong side once again by choosing to be a part of PN.

“Associating with Bersatu and PAS seems to be the last straw for Gerakan before its final disappearance from the arena of Malaysian politics.” – January 23, 2023.