The just-concluded Penang Gerakan emergency general meeting could have solved in the short-term the party's leadership crisis , but it has instead opened a can of worms: several branches are now threatening to leave en bloc , to join rival parties.

According to former Gerakan vice-president Huan Cheng Guan, his newly formed Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) has been approached by several Gerakan branches intending to dissolve following their dissatisfaction with the EGM result .

The EGM held on Sunday with 322 delegates voting retained state chief Dr Teng Hock Nan on a narrow margin of 29 votes, with 145 delegates voting for the no confidence motion against Teng. There was one spoilt vote.

Despite Teng's victory, some delegates maintained that he should address the grievances of those who wanted him to quit the party because of his poor leadership, so that internal reforms could be initiated.

NONE Huan ( left ), who is PCM vice-president, said several Gerakan branches, especially in the mainland, have expressed their interest in joining Pakatan Rakyat or PCM.

Among them, he said, the Kebun Sireh branch planned to disband for its members to join PKR, while the Bukit Tengah branch members wanted to join the DAP.

"More branches will follow suit and disband, and their members will join PCM. The only person to blame is Teng himself, for his partisan politics," said Huan.

When contacted, Kebun Sireh branch chief Sim Chooi Kung confirmed that the branch members planned to leave Gerakan as they were not happy that Teng remained as state chief despite so many delegates voting against him during the EGM.

Sim said the Kebun Sireh branch members, numbering 250, were free to choose any party to join, but almost all have chosen PKR, although the party does not have a branch in the area.

'We plan to leave en bloc to form PKR branch'

"We intend to leave en bloc and start a new (PKR) branch," he said. "Members will be meeting within this week."

Bukit Tengah branch chief Lee Nam Sim was reluctant to divulge details of the branch's intended plan to disband, saying only that the members would meet in a day or two to discuss the matter.

"After we have met, we will make an official announcement," Lee added.

NONE Meanwhile, Teng ( right ) said he was unaware of any branch wanting to leave Gerakan following the Penang EGM.

"I do not want to speculate on anything. I also cannot be calling them up to ask if they are leaving. We will see what happens when the time comes," he told Malaysiakini .

Teng also said other than being informed about a few branches planning to leave the party, he has also been getting unpleasant SMSes from those who were upset with the results of the EGM.

"But this is life, we have to accept it," he added.

It is also learnt that Kepala Batas Gerakan division chairperson Jeffrey Beh resigned from his post today, together with 300 of his supporters.

Beh said the group was currently collecting resignation signatures from the members. Once that is completed, the division would make an official announcement about its future plans, he added.

However, Beh and his supporters are reportedly undecided about which party to join, and have kept mum about their plans when asked by reporters.