I have been wanting to comment about Tan Keng Liang, in his official capacity as Gerakan Youth chief, but found myself too bored with the lad whose frequent remarks hardly make any sense at all despite appearing in the news.

My advice to Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy director Phil Robertson is simply not be bothered with the ‘half-past-six’ young leader that Gerakan has been able to produce of late.

There are many young and more mature Malaysian leaders such as Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar, probably the same age as Tan, who have the calibre of a good leader and the courage to make a difference in the country, unlike Tan who is merely regurgitating some old stories that are told by his mentors without going through his grey matter.

His example of Guantanamo Bay is nothing but a parrot saying things that he could not even comprehend, and suffice for Robertson to say that HRW has also opposed Guantanamo against the US government.

First impressions

My first encounter with Tan was when he made a certain comment about the solar panel factory that was to be set up in Penang. If I recall correctly, this was to be the fifth company producing solar panels to be set up in the country, taking advantage of the natural resources that we have.

At that juncture, I was working hard to promote green energy; therefore, any comments made even by politicians were on my radar.

I may not recall entirely what Tan had said about the solar panel company that was the Penang state government had worked so hard to attact; but one thought remains - what Tan said in his statement was simply ‘obnoxious’.

Understandably, the young lad was trying to hit out at the new Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and hoping to gain some brownie points, but the very thing that Tan said was simply obnoxious, illogical and insensible at least to me.

That was how first impressions of Tan Keng Liang came across to me. Sometimes I even wonder who his mentor was and how Gerakan could allow such an immature young leader to be making press statements on a frequent basis.

Tan appears to me as someone who is still learning his ropes. We would listen, if there is something credible coming out from the opposition parties operating in Penang, but my guess - as I have never heard Tan speaking - is that he is also struggling with his English proficiency.

In Malaysia, it is not unusual that we do have politicians who can hardly speak English or Bahasa Malaysia yet being appointed as deputy ministers.

I remember a former MCA deputy higher education minister Tan Chai Ho, who was invited as guest-of-honour at the launch of Facon Education Fair, an annual education fair. In our midst, there were a number of professors from reputable universities.

Seated in the press conference, I was shocked when I heard the speech being read. Wondering to myself, I was asking: “How on earth can we have such a deputy minister in the Higher Education Ministry?”

I have no dispute about Tan’s command of Mandarin, but when he spoke in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, I simply cringe.

The Gerakan Tan is no difference, and I can only cringe, if some day he was to be picked as a deputy minister. My hope and prayer is that the young Tan will have someone coach him first before he ever makes his next press statement or takes up a ministerial post.

Gone are the days when Gerakan used to have the good leaders. I can think of people like Dr Tan Kee Kwong, son of the highly respected philanthropist and Mr Opposition Dr Tan Chee Khoon, and his contemporary Dr Lim Chong Eu who had earned the title, ‘Architect of Modern Penang’.

Even InvestPenang director Lee Kah Choon is a zillion kilometres apart from where the young lad Tan is now today. One major mistake that Gerakan has made is to allow its former president Dr Lim Keng Yaik to remain as president for far too long and when he left, he did not have anyone whom he had groomed up to replace him.

Gerakan’s shine is gone

Over the years, I have lost my respect for Gerakan despite it being the party that at one stage I had thought of joining, should I decide to go into politics.

MCA, as I saw it, was too village-based and they were only interested in major fundraising and the pomp appearances during ceremonies and dinner functions, but Gerakan was more ‘intellectual’ where I was concerned.

That was at least 20 years ago, when I debated within myself whether I should join Barisan Nasional or the opposition. However, over the years, my respect for Gerakan has dropped, especially my first personal encounter with its past president Dr Koh Tsu Koon at an education institution in Penang.

Thereafter, since Gerakan’s defeat in 2008 to the DAP, Gerakan has almost gone into oblivion. With its president who is currently a minister, Gerakan has lost its lustre as a political party.

Mah Siew Keong is hardly in the news on major issues affecting the people except recently during the Gerakan general assembly.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.