There is a "50 percent" chance that former Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye may offer himself for the party's top post in the party polls to be held on Oct 26.

If he does, he would be stepping back into the limelight from a hiatus he has been in since losing the Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat, which he held since 1995, to DAP in the 2008 general election.

In a recent interview, Chia, who has held several high profile government posts during his political career, including that of deputy information minister (2004-2008) and parliamentary secretary to the Energy, Communications and Multimedia Ministry (1999-2004), joked that he is a "has been".

NONEHowever, when asked, he did not directly dismiss the possibility of going for the party president post, left vacant when Koh Tsu Koon (left) resigned just after the 13th general election on May 5.

In speaking about his possible candidacy, Chia said the party's situation was more important than his.

"It's a RM10 question. It's either one or zero, a 50 percent chance. I would either contest the top post or nothing. I've gone through the whole thing.

"But if there are younger people who want to take up the challenge, we should give them a chance to win," Chia told Malaysiakini.

Chia, who was special assistant to the former Penang chief minister, broke his silence only lately during the contest for the Penang Gerakan chief's post, in which he threw his support behind Teng Chang Yeow who has replaced outgoing chairperson Dr Teng Hock Nan.

Nominations for Gerakan's main leadership body falls on Oct 19, while elections are to be held on Oct 26, the first day of the National Delegates Conference (NDC) in Kuala Lumpur.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is expected to officiate the event where about 2,000 delegates will vote for the new leadership, which will hold the posts for the next three years.

Gerakan must bring itself 'out of the doldrums'

If Chia contests, he may face acting-Gerakan president Chang Ko Yuan (below) and acting-secretary-general Mah Siew Kong for the post, both of whom have been more prominent in the limelight.

NONEChia said Gerakan must be prepared to bring itself out of the doldrums or else in five or 10 years, it would still be stuck there.

He said within this decade, the party would need to have suitable leaders in terms of age, physical and mental stamina, and those who can fullly grasp and understand politics.

The ideal leader to lead Gerakan, he said, would be one who has experience and the energy to see the party through the next challenging decade and beyond.

In a parliamentary democracy, the final measure of a political party is electoral success.

"Gerakan has now become 3-in-1 like Ipoh white coffee," he jested, referring to the party's ability to only capture one parliament and three states seats in the May 5 polls.

"But then, the 3-in-1 coffee is very popular," he was quick to add.

He explain that electoral success alone is not the true measure of the political value of party, but its ideology, and whether members truly believe in it.

"If we want to lead the people, we have to show people we are serious in politics, we have lost but our political struggle is still going on.

"We may have lost our chance (to govern Penang), but we should continue soldiering on. We should let the young ones do it. Younger one must also understand (they they can learn from the experience of seniors)," he added.