KUALA LUMPUR, May 17- After being in politics for more than 30 years, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (photo) today officially resigned as the president of Gerakan, a Barisan National (BN) component party.
Koh, 64, an academician started his political career when he joined Gerakan in 1982 under the leadership of the late Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik.
He contested for the first time in the sixth general election in April 1982 and became the MP for Tanjong in Penang after defeating Chian Heng Kai @ Chin Soo Ha (DAP) with a 834-vote majority.
His political career in the party took off when he was appointed national chairman of Gerakan Youth from in 1982 to 1990, Tanjong Gerakan division chairman and a member of Gerakan’s central committee (1984).
Father to a son and daughter, Koh failed to defend his Tanjong seat when he lost to Lim Kit Siang (DAP) in the 7th general election in 1986 by 11,690 votes.
However, his career did not come to an end as he was appointed political secretary to Penang Chief Minister, the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu from September 1986 to 1990.
Upon winning the Tanjong Bunga state seat in the 8th general election on October 9, 1990, Koh was appointed Penang’s third Chief Minister.
In 2007, he was acting Gerakan president when Keng Yaik announced his retirement and in the following year, Koh was elected as president for the 2008/2011 term, unopposed.
In the 2008 general election, Koh decided not to contest the state seat and chose to stand for the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat in which he lost to P. Ramasamy from DAP.
He later took oath as a Senator and was appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (National Unity and Performance Management) when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak named his cabinet in 2009.
On November 17, 2011, Koh announced his decision to not contest in the 13th general election for both Parliamentary and state seat.
His political journey was put to a severe test when Gerakan won only one parliamentary seat (Simpang Renggam, Johor) out of 11 seats contested in the 13th general election on May 5, while the party won only three out of the 31 state seats it contested.
In 2008, the party won two parliamentary seats and four state seats. Taking full responsibility for the beating, last Saturday he announced his decision to step down as Gerakan president effective today.
The president’s post would be temporarily filled by his deputy Datuk Chang Ko Youn while awaiting the party’s election in October.
– BERNAMA
