By HAH FOONG LIAN

hah@thestar.com.my

IPOH: All Barisan Nasional component parties must consider amending their constitutions to accept members of all races as the voting trend shows a move away from racial politics, Perak Gerakan chief Datuk Chang Ko Youn said.

Results of the just-concluded general election showed that the electorate did not vote according to the racial background of the candidates, he said.

“There are non-Chinese who supported the DAP while there are Chinese voters who voted for PAS,” he said yesterday after chairing the state Gerakan committee meeting to discuss results of the 12th general election.

Chang, who is also Gerakan national vice-president, said it was time for Barisan to study the composition of its coalition and the ideologies of the respective political parties.

“Component members of the Barisan must be open to all races and not only to one race. This is the first step and it includes Umno, MCA and the MIC,” he added.

“There is a need to amend the constitutions of the respective parties and accept everyone as members,” he said.

He also pointed out that components of the coalition should consider dissolving their individual parties and set up only one “Barisan party” to face the next general election.

“In view of the current social and political scenario, Barisan should just be one single party to face the challenges from the DAP, PKR and PAS,” he said.

“It is clear that racial politics is not a viable choice.”

Chang, the former Jalong assemblyman, lost his bid for the Beruas parliamentary seat against DAP’s Ngeh Koo Ham, the Perak DAP chief.

“We must redefine and reinvent ourselves to stay relevant to the political scenario. We can’t survive with the politics of the 1950s and 1960s,” Chang said.

Chang, who stressed that it was not the time to look for scapegoats, said “arrogance of power” was also one of the reasons for Barisan's poor showing in the elections.

He said constituents want to look at your attitude and the words you use. These are equally important.”