KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 – Gerakan party members have recovered from their disappointment in the 12th general election to achieve better results in the 13th poll on May 5, said party president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon(Pic).
“We have been working very hard for the past four years, we hope that the people will give us a chance based on our past track records,” he told reporters at the party headquarters, here today. He pointed out that there had been no scandals involving the party all this while especially in Penang, the state led by the party for 39 years before losing to the opposition pact in the 2008 general election.
“Even among the BN component party members, there is close cooperation and consensus compared to the past, whether among the top leadership or the grassroots,” he said. Koh, however, refused to speculate on the party’s chances in the 13th general election (GE13) and left everything to the voters.
In the 2008 general election, Koh, who was then the acting Gerakan president and Penang chief minister at that time, suffered the most bitter defeat when he lost to former lecturer Dr P. Ramasamy, from the DAP, in the Batu Kawan parliamentary constituency. Out of the 12 parliamentary seats contested by the Gerakan, the party only won the Gerik and Simpang Renggam seats.
The party had fielded candidates in 13 state constituencies and only won five of them namely in Kuala Sepetang (Perak), Ketari (Pahang), Pemanis (Johor), Bukit Batu (Johor) and Derga (Kedah). Gerakan also lost all its bastions in Penang. For the GE13, Gerakan will field candidates in 11 parliamentary and 31 state constituencies.
BERNAMA
