PETALING JAYA: Gerakan will contest 36 seats in the six state elections, with eight seats in Selangor under the Perikatan Nasional banner, says Datuk Dr Dominic Lau.
The Gerakan president said that all party candidates should be self-financed as the coalition is low on funds and must make sure they are fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.
He also said they have learnt from past mistakes and will not entertain last-minute candidates, who may leave the party after they lose.
Lau said this at the Selangor Gerakan annual general assembly at its headquarters here on Sunday (June 25).
"In Selangor, we will contest Kuala Kubu Baru, Bukit Gasing, Bandar Utama, Bukit Lanjan, Bandar Baru Klang, Sentosa, Kota Kemuning, and the Banting state seats under the Perikatan banner.
"We will prioritise Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
"Whatever mistakes we made in the past elections, we will not repeat. We learnt that last-minute candidates do not work.
"Candidates standing in for Gerakan under the Perikatan banner must continue with the party after the state elections, no matter the outcome," said Lau.
He also decried those who said that only Malays support Perikatan.
"Non-Muslims and non-Malays also show their support to Perikatan as they too are not happy with the higher cost of living since the unity government took over seven months ago.
"We concede that the Malays are a 60% majority and 80% of them support Perikatan. However, it is not a ‘green wave’ but a ‘people's wave’," said Lau.
Lau also said that the mission of Gerakan in the state elections is to turn "PMX to XPM" as many promises made during the last general election have yet to be fulfilled.
"The people’s cost of living has risen and they are angry with the government.
“The current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim promised to tackle inflation when he took over Putrajaya during the last general election but he has yet to do so.
"Anwar said the PM will not take on any other portfolio but once he became the Prime Minister, he also appointed himself as the Finance Minister.
"He also said he will not agree to include the court cluster of Umno in the Cabinet but he appointed Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the deputy premier. This was despite Ahmad Zahid facing corruption charges in court," said Lau.
At the same event, outgoing Selangor Gerakan chairman David Ang Chin Tat said it is important to put up a good fight, even if they were to lose in the end.
"It is okay to lose in elections but we must fight with dignity," said Ang, who stepped down as Selangor Gerakan chief after two terms.
He said that although Gerakan is the weakest component of the Perikatan Nasional coalition, the party has the duty to bring multiracialism to Perikatan, which is monoethnic.
The other components of Perikatan are Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, PAS and SAPP.
"Gerakan must not show our weaknesses. We have to qualify our candidates and not quantify them," said Ang in his outgoing speech.
Six states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, are expected to hold their respective state polls in the coming weeks.
