INTERVIEW | Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong is not unused to people telling him to quit BN for the opposition.

Known as something of a maverick within the ruling coalition, Yong has often expressed opinions that run counter to the BN narrative.

Among them is his call for Umno to tone down their racial rhetoric, for the Home Ministry to review its ban on a book by G25, as well as his criticism of BN parliamentarian Hasan Arifin who dismissed restoring English as a medium of instruction in schools.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Yong even revealed that the BN leadership was unhappy with him for not informing them of the suit he filed against the Kelantan government to challenge planned amendments to Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355).

Despite that, BN has chosen Yong as its candidate for the Penang parliamentary seat of Bukit Bendera, where he has been based since October last year.

But Yong remains firm in his belief that he can effect more change from within BN.

“Prior to my entry into politics, I was very much active in engaging with human rights work and legal aid, and because of that, I mix around with a lot of those so-called activists or those more aligned to opposition parties.

“Naturally, those people who know me, they feel like my type of character is more suitable for the opposition.

“But I strongly believe, a voice within BN will be much more effective and have more impact rather than me joining the opposition,” he said during the phone interview with Malaysiakini.

According to Yong, it was him who pushed Gerakan to call for the abolishment of the Internal Security Act 1960, such as by holding a demonstration and submitting a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

He was also the only speaker from a BN component party at a rally against Act 355, he said.

Duty and the ‘starfish’

But how much change can be achieved by one man within the ruling party?

That, Yong said, is another question he is often asked, to which he keeps his ‘starfish story’ at the ready.

The story is about a man walking on a beach filled with starfishes left stranded during the low tide. He comes across a boy picking up the starfishes and throwing them back into the ocean.

The man tells the boy he cannot possibly save all the starfishes on the beach as there are tens of thousands. As the boy throws another starfish back into the ocean, he tells the man, “I made a difference to that starfish.”

“It does not matter how much I can achieve,” Yong said. “What is more important is how far I will pursue (my goals) to the best of my abilities to achieve it.”

Starting over

The Gerakan Youth leader has brought that positive mindset with him to Bukit Bendera, where he is set to contest as a first-time candidate.

The Johor-born but Penang-bred lawyer admits that it will be an uphill battle for him in Penang, a state that Gerakan used to govern for almost 39 years.

The party suffered its worst electoral defeat in the 2008 general election, and has not held a seat in Penang since.

DAP has since taken over the Penang state government, and in 2013, won the Bukit Bendera seat by a seemingly insurmountable 32,778-vote majority.

As such, Gerakan has a lot to prove in this coming elections, he said.

“As a party, yes (we have a lot to prove). Can you imagine, if for the third time since 2008, we still don’t win a single seat? Imagine the repercussions,” he said.

But Yong believes that Gerakan has managed to identify at least two to three state seats in Penang, which they can wrest back from the opposition.

BN would need to win 14 state seats in Penang to deny Pakatan Harapan a two-thirds majority in the state government.

Umno was the only BN component party to record a victory in Penang in the 2013 election, securing 10 state seats.

Denting DAP’s dominance

In Bukit Bendera, Yong believes his constant presence and hard work in the constituency over the past six months has made a dent in DAP’s dominance there.

“I have been working very hard and I have successfully helped a lot of people in terms of their legal problems. Generally, most people (in Bukit Bendera) would know me by now.

“In terms of what I have done, though it is not a long period of time over the last six months, I made my mark especially in places like Air Putih and Kebun Bunga,” he said, referring to two of the state seats which fall under Bukit Bendera.

However, he admits he faces a problem in connecting with the people from the other two state seats under the same parliamentary constituency, Tanjung Bungah and Pulau Tikus.

As those from the latter two areas tend to be high-income earners who live in guarded communities, Yong said it was not easy to affect a “personal touch” from his visits to local community places, like pasar malam.

Moreover, he said his team’s research indicated that about 38 to 40 percent of voters registered to Bukit Bendera do not actually live there.

“Meaning to say they are outside voters... So these are the people that I may encounter problems with,” he said.

In an attempt to reach out to that demographic, he said he will utilise social media, though he is unsure of how effective it will be.

Despite his efforts, Yong acknowledged that there is a problem with people’s perception of parliamentarians over the last 10 years.

“I must say that for the last 10 years, the quality of our MPs, be it from Pakatan or BN, has not been up to standard.

“How many of them really understand the real responsibility and functions that an MP should play?” he questioned.

Fake news law 'perception'

Yong used a similar argument when questioned about the recent voting patterns of the two MPs from Gerakan, a party that has always branded itself as the “conscience” of BN.

In the last parliamentary sitting, Gerakan president and incumbent Teluk Intan MP Mah Siew Keong, along with secretary-general and incumbent Simpang Renggam MP Liang Teck Meng voted in favour of the Anti-Fake News Bill and the redelineation proposal.

Both had received brickbats from civil society organisations and the opposition for allegedly being in favour of the ruling party.

However, Yong argued that most people, including the parliamentarians, do not read through a whole bill and fully understand it.

“How many parliamentarians from both sides really read through the whole bill and understand it? I will dare to say not even half of them,” he said.

The belief that these controversial bills are to give BN an advantage, he said, is merely perception propagated by the opposition and their supporters.

Due to what he described as an “unhealthy and undemocratic” Parliament where everything is politicised, it is difficult for the two Gerakan MPs to stand up as BN’s conscience, he said.

“It is difficult for any MP from Gerakan, especially with only two left, to stand up and be a real conscience (of BN) at this moment, because of the whole scenario in Parliament where nobody is really bothered or concerned about the issues of the day.

“They are in there to argue for political mileage,” he lamented.