Those who are familiar with German politics will remember Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the former leader of the centre-right Free Democratic Party (FDP) who dominated German foreign policy for nearly two decades.

What surprises many is the fact that the FDP is just one of the many small political parties in Germany. Thanks to Proportional Representation (PR) adopted after WWII, which continues to ensure that smaller parties survive and even thrive, FDP has been part of the successive governments.

Adroitly exerting its influence, the party has been in power at the state and federal levels, switching its alliance between the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD) depending on the outcome of an election.

Despite its tiny size, the FDP remains one of the most successful political parties in Europe, and Genscher among the most outstanding foreign ministers in postwar German history. After all, he is credited with the reunification of the German nation and was one of those instrumental in bringing the Cold War to an end.

The factors that contribute to the success of the FDP are many, but nothing is more crucial than a level-playing field and a fairer electoral system such as PR. In other words, given the right conditions, smaller parties can go a long way in challenging the status quo and even making themselves rightful and equal partners in a coalition government.

Here, Umno is never tired of reminding the people that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is a "coalition" entrenched in the noble belief of "power-sharing". When prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohammad often said that his cabinet members, regardless of their party affiliation, debated, argued and even quarreled among each other before a decision was reached.

Meanwhile, other Umno leaders have time and time again sought to mislead the voters that the Malay party can govern on its own on account of its mammoth presence in Parliament, but has chosen to cooperate with other parties "in the spirit of multiracial peace and harmony."

Quite clearly, Umno is a faithful adherent to the principle put forth by the Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels: A lie will be believed if it is repeated more than 1,000 times. Now, a large part of the Malaysian public seems to be given to (mis)understand that BN is indeed a "coalition", warts and all.

Alas, nothing is farther from truth. That Malaysia is governed by a "coalition" is a myth carefully manufactured by Umno and popularized by the mainstream media serving "the government of the day". With its massive influence and control of Malaysia's resources, the Malay party is more than able to run the country on its own. It has settled for a "coalition" formula simply because other options would be less cost-effective and politically cumbersome, with no other race-based parties to help it address and sort out communal resentment.

Umno's arrogance

But Umno's arrogance and disregard for its "coalition partners" have only grown with time. It was shocking yet memorable to many that Lim Keng Yaik, Koh Tsu Koon and other Gerakan leaders stood idly by when Mahathir turned Malaysia into an Islamic state at whims and fancies in September 2001. That the former prime minister made the injudicious declaration at Gerakan's annual assembly was damaging enough for a party that claimed to be devoted to secularism and multiracialism.

Since then, Umno hegemony has gone from bad to worse, and all other component parties are now feeling the heat of being marginalized, not least so Gerakan, "the self-proclaimed conscience of the BN", to quote Khoo Boo Teik.

For one, the obstinate keris-brandishing of Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and the racist remarks uttered by Khairy Jamaluddin only serve to highlight the collective failure of the thirteen BN component parties to harness Umno. Khoo Kay Peng, director of Sedar, the Gerakan think-tank, has been at pains to criticize, his tone rather bitter, of the irresponsible manner of Umno, but he is in no position to effect real change in the BN for the simple fact that it is the word of the (in)famous "fourth floor people" that carries weight. Khoo can continue to complain till the cow comes home, it is nevertheless hard to believe his effort will make a dent in the armour of Umno supremacy.

Adding to the fuel is the series of religion-related incidents in recent months, the latest being the demolition of the Sri Maha Mariyaman temple, indicating that our supposedly secular Constitution is built on shaky ground.

Perhaps it is in this contentious background that the largely Chinese Gerakan has been forced to rediscover its "multiracial" roots. Mah Siew Keong, the Gerakan youth leader, has called for the merging of all the BN parties as one single entity. The party is now on a vigorous drive to promote the Basic Foundations of Our Nationhood.

To be fair, Gerakan was founded as a cross-ethnic party in 1968, its central leadership comprised of the late Syed Hussein Alatas, the prominent and highly respected scholar of Indonesian origin, famous trade unionist V David, Tan Chee Koon who had crossed over from the Labour Party, and Wang Gungwu, a heavyweight intellectual. Amazingly, the party went on to defeat several Umno candidates in the 1969 general elections.

Sadly, Gerakan's tryst with destiny ended when it chose to join the Alliance government in the aftermath of the May 13 tragedy for the sake of national reconciliation. Worse, the entry of Lim Keng Yaik and other MCA renegades into the party in the 1970s prompted Gerakan to move away from its multiracial constituency. By the 1990s, the party became effectively a Chinese-based entity. At present, seven of the twelve parliamentary seats won by the party in the 2004 elections are of Chinese-majority, and all but two of the party's National Central Committee members are Chinese.

In Government and Society in Malaysia, Harold Crouch of the Australian National University wrote that,

Gerakan never abandoned its multicommunal ideologyIn practice, however, the party became increasingly identified with the Chinese community. It had initially appealed to the better-educated, English-speaking Chinese; but it soon realized that future expansion depended on winning the support of the "Chinese" Chinese. This meant competing with the MCA's unabashed emphasis on its Chinese character.

The increasing Chinese-ness of Gerakan made it a natural home for MCA dissidents, whose entry into the party reinforced its Chinese character The identification of Gerakan with the Chinese community became even stronger in 1982 when it recruited several prominent activists in Chinese education movement in practice, there was little to distinguish Gerakan from the MCA, as shown by the ease and frequency with which individual dissidents switched from one party to the other. (pp. 48 49)

It is at times rather unfathomable as to why Gerakan, with its strong base and decades of governing experience in one of the more prosperous states in Malaysia, continues to stay in the BN "coalition". In other democratic countries, it is only natural for a junior partner to look for a way out when the senior partner has become a burden. In many cases, the entry or withdrawal of a junior partner can actually make or break a coalition government. But in Malaysia, all other BN parties seem to be bound by indentures and are forever subservient to Umno.

Saddest truth

To satisfy my curiosity, I put this question to a group of Gerakan members whom I met recently. One by one, they informed me pulling out of the BN would only bring about one certainty: the vanishing of the party in the face of the already cutthroat competition between other multiracial parties such as the DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

In reply, I told them all of us had been living in the delusion created by Umno for far too long. Malaysia may have all the trappings of a democracy, but our elections have been characterized by electoral gerrymandering and the abuse of the first-past-the-post system. The end result? Malaysians only celebrate democracy, not exercise our democratic rights.

The saddest truth is that Gerakan and its other BN colleagues have been contented to play the game within the confines consciously designed by Umno. Instead of asserting its independence, Gerakan seems happy to be fed with the crumbs which fall from Umno's table while keeping its dream of equal partnership alive. Why can't they be bold enough to think out of the BN box and look for a new political alignment?

The dilemma of Gerakan and other BN parties lies in the structure set up to consolidate and perpetuate Umno rule. To convince the public of its sincerity, the Gerakan leadership has to do more than just calling for a royal commission to probe into the Lingam tape scandal or waiving the Four Foundations booklet (which, to its credit, is published in four languages).

For a start, why not launch a manifesto with promises on electoral reform and the restoration of local election? Both agenda would in fact be hugely beneficial to regional parties such as Gerakan. As my friend Wong Chin Huat has said, today we may find the People's Progressive Party (PPP) a laughing stock, and its leader M Kayveas no more than a political clown, but are we ever so confident that the same fate would not befall Gerakan 10 or 20 years down the line?

After all, the PPP was once a force to be reckoned with. The Perak-based party had been controlling the Ipoh municipal council until the Alliance government found local election a costly business and abolished it in 1963. The PPP was even part of the Alliance-led coalition that governed Perak in the early 1970s. Tellingly, the party's decline in fortune began when it opted to join the BN in 1974, a far cry from now that Kayveas did not even have the guts to get up from his seat and walk out in protest when Mohammad Ali Rustam, an Umno vice-president, openly humiliated the PPP.


You can't blame Umno: why on earth should Abdullah be invited to officiate the opening of a component party's general assembly anyway? He is the president of Umno, not of the MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP etc.. I would have no qualms seeing the prime minister walk into the hall with rounds of applause and the crowd wanting more at a BN function. However, with due respect to the component parties, he should stay clear of their internal affairs, including general assembly. I cannot imagine how the grassroots members would react should the Progressive Party (PP), a junior partner in the current New Zealand government, invite Prime Minister Helen Clark to deliver some kind of a keynote speech at a PP function, not to mention hurling insults at them.

My worry is, years of compliance under Umno have made Gerakan, once a great and promising party with laudable ideals, ideologically vacuous. When I clicked on About Politics on the Gerakan website recently, all I got in return was "Under Construction". The ironical result does speak volumes of Gerakan's home truth.

To reestablish itself as a multiracial party is a daunting task for Gerakan. In addition to the token presence of the two Indian leaders, the party has for many years been without a prominent Malay representative. Needless to say, it could take a miracle for Gerakan to repeat its impressive defeats of Umno candidates in the 1960s, but politics is about being pragmatic as well as imaginative. It is incumbent on all political parties to break the monopoly of the Malay constituency by Umno and Pas. A Malay middle ground is crucial to ensuring the existence of Malaysia as a secular and multiracial nation.

Personally speaking, I still harbour some hope for Gerakan simply because I have met quite a few conscientious and honest leaders in the past, such as Dr. Toh Kin Won. But the party clearly needs a rebirth after decades of tainted rule by the BN. Perhaps it has to begin with a termination of too close an association with the delusional coalition, otherwise the onus is on Gerakan to tell the people what good does it serve in sticking with Umno.