Perak Gerakan Proposes BN Becomes Single Party For all Races

Perak Gerakan Proposes BN Becomes Single Party For all Races

Posted by Raja Petra
Sunday, 16 March 2008, MT

(Bernama) -- Perak Gerakan today proposed the dissolution of all component parties of the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the conversion of the coalition into a single political party accepting direct membership regardless of race.

Its chairman, Datuk Chang Ko Youn, said this was necessary to ensure that the BN remained relevant in the current political scenario following the recent general election where Malaysians did not vote for parties representing any one community.

"Many voters did not vote for candidates based on race or ethnicity. This shows a decline in racist politics," he told reporters at Wisma Gerakan, here.

Chang, who is also Gerakan vice-president, said that if the proposal was accepted, then the BN component parties should be dissolved and the BN must be established as a single political party to face the next general election.

He said the proposal was the outcome following the feedback and opinions received from most of the Gerakan divisions in Perak.

He also said that the conversion of the BN into a single political party would also help it to face up to the challenge posed by the DAP, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and PAS.

The Umno-led 14-party BN coalition failed to recapture Kelantan from PAS and lost Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor to the opposition in the March 8 general election.

At the federal level, the BN won 140 seats, eight short of the two-third majority in the 222-seat parliament.