KUALA LUMPUR: The Gerakan top leadership has reversed its decision to send a "negotiation team" to Penang, which was supposed to have ironed out the party's state leadership tussle.
Party insiders revealed that the decision to call off the "peace mission" was made on Monday night, barely 36- hours before the negotiation team was scheduled to meet warring faction leaders in Penang, today.
"Due to certain reasons, the leadership has decided to call off the mission. If they go to Penang in an effort to solve the problem, they would be perceived as pressuring those who wanted a state extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to call off the idea and be accused of curtailing democracy," an insider told FMT.
Moreover, sources revealed that those wanting the EGM, calling themselves "voices of the grassroots", were adamant in carrying out their plan and table a motion of no confidence against elected Gerakan state chief Dr Teng Hock Nam.
Gerakan's top leadership had set up a four-member negotiation team headed by vice-president Mah Siew Keong to meet the warring factions in Penang today to try find an amicable solution before notice of the requested EGM was issued next Monday.
The other members in the team were vice-president A Kohilan Pillay, Youth chief Lim Si Pin and Gerakan central committee member Gooi Hoe Hin.
EGM to proceed as planned
With the peace mission abandoned, it looks like Penang Gerakan would hold its EGM as scheduled on Oct 10 at the party headquarters at Maccalister Road.
Party sources said some national leaders were against the idea of sending the negotiation team as this would not go down well with those in the state who had wanted the EGM.
"The Penang EGM is just the beginning. We expect more to follow suit as there are members in other states who also want state EGMs. The delegates and members are sending a message that they are displeased with the top national leadership," said a source.
He explained that any motion of no confidence against Teng would be equivalent to a similar motion being passed against Gerakan president Dr Koh Tsu Koon's leadership as the two leaders are known to be close and had formed a pact.
Selangor and Perak to follow Penang's lead?
There are murmurs that some delegates in Selangor and Perak may also request a similar EGM to table a motion of no confidence against their respective state chairmen, who are known to be Koh's diehards.
However, todate no delegate or a group of delegates have come out to say this in the two states.
Kohilan is the Selangor Gerakan head while Perak is helmed by party deputy president Chang Ko Youn.
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