Both the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Gerakan acting President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon were greatly embarrassed yesterday when they were asked questions about the call by the Gerakan Wanita chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe that Gerakan quit the Barisan Nasional.

Speaking at the Perak Gerakan annual delegates conference in Ipoh, Tan, who is also Deputy Information Minister, said the party should pull out from the BN due to Umno’s unabated and unabashed racial politics that had hurt the sentiments of non-Malays and non-Muslims.

She whacked Umno for continuing to play racial politics and not learning from the harsh lessons meted out by voters in the recent March general election.

Another Gerakan leader, national vice chairman and Perak Gerakan chief Datuk Chan Ko Youn is quoted in the media as saying that 80% of the Gerakan delegates in Perak supported Gerakan’s pull-out from the BN.

Both Tan and Chan are right and Koh wrong – as Umno has clearly not learnt the lessons of the March 8 “political tsunami”, when Malaysian voters transcended their racial, religious and even political differences to vote as one Malaysian people for unity, freedom, justice and democracy in Malaysia.

Unfortunately, the Umno leaders have proved to be even more racist, communal and chauvinist than in the past, as evident from one Umno Youth banner displayed during the Permatang Pauh by-election Nomination Day,which screamed:

MELAYU DITINDAS – MANA KEADILAN???

Is this one of the Barisan Nasional campaign themes in the Permatang Puah by-election?

How can the Gerakan, MCA and MIC leaders, members and supporters support such a racist, communal and chauvinist campaign theme in the by-election?

Gerakan leaders cannot wait until October but must take a stand against Umno’s racist politics in the Permatang Pauh by-election!

In two weeks’ time, Malaysians will be celebrating our 51s National Day.

However, the 51st Merdeka anniversary on August 31 has been made quite meaningless with the obsession with “Malay Unity” instead of “Malaysian Unity” in the past five months by Umno leaders who form the backbone of Barisan Nasional government – to the extent that UMNO Youth could so blatantly display a racist, communal and chauvinist banner like “MELAYU DITINDAS – MANA KEADILAN???”.

Who had suppressed and oppressed the Malays? If the Umno Youth banner refers to the Malays in Penang, is it a condemnation of the 18 years of Chief Ministership of Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon?

If the banner refers to the Malays in Malaysia, is it a condemnation of the failure of the Umno leadership, in particular Abdullah’s premiership in the past five years?

Gerakan leaders, and those from the MCA, MIC and other BN component parties, should take a leaf from Dr. Toh Kin Woon, the “conscience of Gerakan” and take a clear-cut stand for the interests of all Malaysians against the racist and communal politicking of UMNO, which had gone from bad to worse in the past five-and-a-half months since the March 8 “political tsunami”.

(Media Conference Statement in Parliament at 3 pm)