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'?