Tan Kee Kwong hentam Lim Keng Yaik.

Dr Tan Kee Kwong chairman of KLFT Gerakan has asked Party Adviser Dr Lim Keng Yaik to shut up and stop meddling into party matters. He also said the Lee Kah Choon's acceptance of the post in PDC should not matter because he was already only an ordinary member.

Wee Chong Yan of Bakri division in an exclusive interview, agreed wholeheartedly with TKK on the matter. He feels strongly that the party adviser should not publicly admonish any party member on such matter. He does not want the great legacy left behind by the party adviser be diluted by the criticism originating from the party adviser himself.

The knives are now out. After the news broke that the party had nominated Koo Shiaw Lee for the JPMM post, a few members and even a non-member has questioned the ability of KSL to carry out the responsibilities as the Head of JPMM in Skudai. As expected, Lau Kok Guan's name has been bandied about ever since his performance at the Dialogue. See here.

The State Chairman Potential Candidate has been going around meeting a lot of people. Yesterday he was at Pasir Gudang, meeting select members of the division. The SCPC claimed that the JPMM post came with a RM3500 monthly salary and many perks which should be enjoyed by a senior member of the party and not by a mere executive secretary of the state.

Lee Kah Choon's Dilemma

LKC's acceptance of the appointments in the Penang's govt bodies has put Gerakan in a bit of a pickle. In a just world, the acceptance should not be any problem at all. After all LKC is only an ordinary member. He has resigned all his party positions prior to accepting the post. I am sure there are thousands of Gerakan, UMNO, MCA or MIC members working in opposition's govt at the moment. There is no way we can ask all of them to quit either the party or their job. I am sure there are plenty of PAS or PKR members in the govt service right now too. The real dilemma for Gerakan is whether we should kowtow to what UMNO wants us to do or should we defy the order and stand up to the big brother and do what is right. This is what the outside world wants to see us doing. Damn if you are a stooge and damn if you don't.

Dialogue in Skudai

Many delegates spoke about why we had lost. Unfortunately none gave a solution except state commitee member Sdr Lau Kok Guan. He identified the reason for the lost in Skudai ( wrong candidate) and urged the party to be more careful to in selecting the candidates the next time. He also highlighted that the MB has rejected the state chairman as the head of the skudai's JPMM. Although careful to avoid proposing himself, he urged other ADUNs to look into the usefulness of JPMMs. He also volunteered to set up a service team in skudai area. A comical moment came when the branch leader of Batu 8.5 spoke. With the microphone in his flailing hands as he delivered his grievances, the audience was thoroughly entertained. Sdr Ting Pang Seng brought up the case of missing party members in a pro-tem Taman University branch during the election. He suggested that the branch be suspended its recognition until it can prove that it is a viable branch.

Majlis Dialog Tertutup Gerakan Johor

A closed door dialogue session was held today at Dewan Serbaguna MBJBT Skudai today at 2.00pm to talk about the direction of the party in the coming years. Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, Datuk Chia Kwan Chye, Datuk Teng Hock Nan, Datuk Ng Lip Yong, Datuk Mah Siew Keong and a few other national leaders were in attendance. Moderated by state secretary YB Cheong Chin Liang and an opening speech by Dato Teo Kok Chee the dialogue started smoothly. In a speech by Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, he touched on the reasons for the dismal results in the previous election. Among the reasons offered were the over confidence of incumbents, the lack of action on corruption and incompetence of the delivery system.