KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan will enter the foray in the upcoming Tanjung Piai by-election after sitting out eight by-elections which have taken since the 14th General Election (GE14).
This will be the first time that the multiracial party is contesting under its own logo after it quit the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in June last year.
President Datuk Dr Dominic Lau said the party would announce its candidate several days before the nomination day on Nov 2.
“Gerakan held a meeting earlier and we reached a unanimous decision to take part in the Tanjung Piai by-election.
“At the moment, we have six names that are being considered, consisting of both men and women.
“Some are from Johor while others are from other states.
“The Central Works Committee will do follow-up meetings to decide on this and we will announce the name to the media once we’ve reached a decision,” he said.
The constituency at the southern tip of the peninsula became vacant after the death of Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik, due to heart complications, on Sept 21.
The Election Commission had announced that nomination day and polling day would be Nov 2 and 16, respectively, while early voting would be on Nov 12.
Lau said his deputy, Oh Tong Keong, was appointed as the election director while Senator Datuk Teo Kok Chee would be the command centre chief.
Asked about Gerakan’s chances of winning the by-election, considering that it was not a part of any political pact, Lau said the party was ready to be the third force in the country’s political arena.
“After a year of forming the government, Pakatan Harapan still failed to fulfil its manifesto and have come up with policies that are not in favour of the people.
“It’s time for PH to stop with their honeymoon. The people are not happy with your performance.
“On the other side, Umno and Pas with its new cooperation are promoting racism and we are saying, stop all these racial sentiments.
“This is why Gerakan decided to contest in Tanjung Piai because we want the people to know that they have an alternative and that’s us,” he said.
During GE14, Dr Farid won the seat with 21,255 votes defeating MCA candidate Wee Jeck Seng and Pas candidate Nordin Othman by a slim 524-vote majority.