Media reports on proceedings of Gerakan's annual general meeting last week have left me totally puzzled as to the nature of the relationship between this party and its multiple partners in the polygamous political union known as Barisan Nasional (BN).

To judge from all the accounts I've seen, Gerakan seems so deeply incompatible with BN in general and Umno in particular that this looks like one marriage of convenience that must surely be headed for the divorce court.

Or is it destined to survive as an instance of the accuracy of the old adage that 'opposites attract'?

Or, wonder of wonders, could this be a real-life manifestation of that most irresistible and enduring of fantasies, a fairytale romance, with Gerakan casting itself as Beauty and Umno as the Beast?

It certainly looks that way, with acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon commenting on the judicial 'appointments-fixing' scandal in his opening speech with the admission: "We note with concern that public perception about the judiciary has been adversely affected by this and other revelations and allegations."

He then goes on to break coalition ranks on its reaction to the scandal by adding "If need be, a Royal commission should be seriously considered".

As reported by malaysiakini and by Nat Tan in his eloquent www.jelas.com blog on this topic, Koh ( photo ) also flew in the face of BN by pledging that his party would "continue to uphold a 'liberal and progressive moderation' approach...not an easy approach because we are under attack from various quarters", adding that "despite the attacks and sometimes humiliations, we must go on".

Wanita head Tan Lian Hoe said in her confrontational opening speech that the government should allow for a proper and free platform for the people to air their grievances, and should listen to their grouses about "diminishing integrity, the issue of meritocracy, excessive focus on Islamic issues, weaknesses in public administration, the abuse of power by those in authority, judicial integrity, security and others".

Kedah Youth delegate Heah Tick Lai injected a note of hilarity into the proceedings by waving an oversized styrofoam keris in each hand during his speech in parody of Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein, saying that his purpose in waving weapons was different in that it was "not to fight or challenge anyone" but in the hope that "next time Hishammuddin will hold and shout 'unity for all Malaysians'" rather than whipping-up racist sentiments.

Negri Sembilan delegate Cheow Woon San attacked another high-profile government figure, accusing Foreign Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar of lying in a recent interview on the BBC World Hardtalk programme by stating that non-bumiputeras have benefitted more than bumiputeras in the awarding of university places and government contracts.

"Please assess for yourselves on how true these statements are..."our own leaders are liars," malaysiakini quoted Cheow as saying.

Lau Suraksah from Kelantan sustained the attack by claiming that corruption of the New Economic Policy was the biggest obstacle to overcoming poverty, saying: "Our elected representatives are only interested in their personal interest, they have no time to fulfill the people's hope in them."

Stark contradiction

My purpose in so tediously citing from these reports is not, as some may suspect, to make writing this column easier, but to highlight the stark contradiction between Gerakan's litany of grievances against the BN government and the call by Gerakan Youth head Mah Siew Kong for the merger of all 14 parties in the ruling coalition in the interests of national unity.

Maybe Mah was just joking, or trying his hand at satire. But nobody was laughing, apparently, at the irony of his proposition. In fact it received "thunderous support" from his fellow party- members, and reportedly had the normally keris-waving Hishammuddin nodding his head.

Despite Mah's bizarre conciliatory call for coalition and national unity, Tan delivered a closing speech that was seemingly contemptuous of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's response to her call in her opening speech for the government to listen to the people.

Declaring that he had "big ears", the PM had declared that he was prepared to listen to the truth until it hurt.

But Tan wasn't satisfied: "Listen, listen, listen but no action taken. The people are actually disappointed, frustrated and angry..It is useless that we only listen but no firm and swift action is being taken," she reportedly raged.

She further made the point that those who voice their grouses against the government should not be deemed as traitors: "...they just want to air their views. The real traitors are those who are corrupt, do not have integrity and are dishonest."

So what's the story here? What are Tan and her colleagues doing in a coalition whose senior partners are so incompatible with their principles? Is Gerakan, as I postulated earlier, really a Beauty desperately struggling to escape the embrace of the dreadful BN Beast? A Snow White yearning for release from the clutches of a gang of predatory political dwarfs?

My guess, as cynical as it may seem, is that the truth's not nearly so airy-fairy as this. In fact I suspect that, far from having lost the plot, Gerakan is simply playing its part in a classic political charade.

It delivered lines carefully scripted to make it look acceptable or even attractive to all those who detest other higher-profile parties in the coalition. And giving BN heavies Hishammuddin and Badawi some badly-needed cues to act as cuddly as Noddy and Big Ears.