Gerakan Youth today expressed disappointment with the calls on Penang Chief Minister and Gerakan deputy president Dr Koh Tsu Koon to resign as chairperson of the Penang Water Authority (PWA).

Although no party or individual were named, Gerakan Youth chief Mah Siew Keong was obviously referring to the call from Umno on Koh to step down and return the post to Umno.

"Koh has worked hard to develop the PWA and it is one of the most advanced water suppliers in the country," Bernama quoted Mah as saying.

"Before this, there were calls to rotate the (Penang) chief minister's post. These contradict the Barisan Nasional spirit and must be stopped immediately," he told the Gerakan Youth annual meet in Kuala Lumpur.

The one-day meets for the party's Youth and Wanita wings were officiated simultaneously by Koh.

Malays sidelined

The PWA issue cropped up recently when Bukit Mertajam Umno division chief, Senator Musa Sheikh Fadzir said the PWA was allegedly sidelining the Malays.

He claimed that not only were Malay professionals not being employed, but the PWA had also set up subsidiaries controlled by non-bumiputeras.

Musa also alleged that the PWA did not prioritise bumiputera companies in the issuance of contacts and that was against government policy.

However, Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein, when commenting on the issue, said Musa's call did not reflect the stand of the wing.

He said Umno Youth and Gerakan had agreed to look for solutions via the existing channels.

Penang Umno Youth also wanted the chief minister's post to be rotated as it claimed that the predominantly-Chinese Gerakan government, which has been ruling the state for decades, was not helping the Malays.

Umno controls 14 of the 40 state seats. The remaining seats are controlled by Gerakan (13), MCA (9) and MIC (2). Opposition parties DAP and PAS hold a seat each.