'To the Umno-led BN regime, Koh is indeed excellent material as someone who places harmony of the regime first, and Gerakan last.'

Najib: I leave decision in Koh's good hands

vox populi small thumbnail Multi Racial: Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon is a good man, but when come to politics, I don't think he belong there. Gerakan was already on the way down. It does not matter who leads - the result will still be the same. It was due to its decision to join BN years ago.

I empathise with the situation Koh is in. In politics, when you are down, everyone will go after your head. Whether they smile in front of you and work behind your back, the agenda is the same. This is the time Koh will know who are his true friends.

My advice for Koh is to retire gracefully. Don't hang on to something that is not worth fighting for. Don't read too much into PM Najib Razak's statement. He is also under siege by his mentor (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) and his deputy (Muhyiddin Yassin).

Well, he is getting the taste of what he did to his boss. In life, what goes around come around. Gerakan, MCA and MIC are as good as dead. So if Koh hangs around, the only consolation he gets is being Gerakan's last president.

The world has moved on except Malaysia, since Umno is still preaching old politics.

Cala: After its Waterloo in the 2008 general election, Gerakan has been a minuscule party, void of any direction on how to resurrect itself from the ashes.

Instead of giving itself a chance under the circumstance, the party makes itself all the more irrelevant by retaining the same leadership which had been proven to be ineffective.

What is the point of having a leader who is not representing the masses but himself? But Koh Tsu Koon's attitude is not something strange in a real world. To him, keeping the ministerial post is proof of his own success, never mind whether it is of any help to Gerakan.

To the Umno-led BN regime, Koh is indeed excellent material as someone who places harmony of the regime first, and Gerakan last.

From this perspective, Gerakan Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe's speech in calling for Koh to step down is not path-breaking, earth shattering nor unusual. As Gerakan president, Koh lives in a world of his own.

Ferd Tan: After the debacle of 2008 general election, Koh Tsu Koon was prepared to leave the political scene. His public mannerism and statements then pointed to his departure. So why didn't he?

It was most probably because there was no clear-cut leader next in line to take over the helm of the party. On top of that, there was a power struggle among them, like Dr Teng Hock Nan and former party vice-president Huan Cheng Guan, who left the party to join Party Cinta Malaysia.

Then came Najib offering Koh a ministerial post without portfolio - that could have changed his mind to step down.

Najib, by coming out in the unprecedented press conference after officiating the party's AGM yesterday, is tacitly supporting Koh as the party president in spite of the widespread dissatisfaction among the majority of party members.

In conclusion, Koh Tsu Koon is Umno's choice.

Kennchan: When Koh took over Penang from Lim Chong Eu in the 1990s, everyone in Penang thought he could do wonders for Penang. But in the end, he just followed Umno until he led his party nowhere.

Durian: Koh has never been and will never be a leader with the intelligence and political bravery. He was not chosen by Gerakan leaders, but by Umno, which knows he is an apple polisher.

That is the reason Umno rejected the nomination of Goh Cheng Teik, a much more senior leader and perceived to have more guts at that time.

Umno will not claim leadership in Penang BN

My THOR: As long as Umno does not command the majority in the Penang state assembly, it will lay cool for the moment.

Penang Umno has always had an eye for the chief minister's post over the past decade and had been tunnelling around to secure the post, with some Umno leaders openly demanding it.

Gerakan, once the almighty in 1970s, had been used by Umno as a front when Gerakan's CM Koh Tsu Koon (KTK) was at the helm. KTK's government was badly abused by Umno to the anger of Penang people who had labeled him as ‘boh hood' (no courage).

Thus, 2008 was the turning point, when Gerakan, MCA and MIC were kicked out. The change starts in Penang. Indeed, Penang leads.

Alan Goh: Umno will not claim the leadership in Penang BN now, but like in Sabah, it might start with a two-year rotation of the CM's post. Look at Sabah now.

By the way, for the umpteen years when Gerakan held the CM's post, what did Koh Tsu Koon do?

He was belittled by Penang Umno to the point that the former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had to ask his people to mellow down.

Onyourtoes: It is form over substance again. In form, Umno does not have to claim leadership in Penang. In substance, it has been doing it ever since Gerakan and Alliance were in power.

That is why I have to keep repeating - Umno strategists are nincompoops thinking that others are more stupid than them. Penangites will never return to a Gerakan-led but Umno-controlled state government.

Rick Teo: Sorry Najib, 54 years of BN and Umno's rule is more than what Penangites can stomach. We will give Pakatan Rakyat a bigger mandate this time round.

 

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