The furiously swirling political currents and eddies keep throwing up ironies of a rich order tied to the past. Take 1969 for instance.

The newly born in Penang Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party attracted large crowds wherever it held public rallies. Just curiosity, said the political pundits. No, said the electorate at the ballot box and, Penang fell to the Opposition.

A first for a West Coast State.

The MCA which was the cock of the walk there since independence was shattered. Its 12-year-old hold on the state had passed in a blink of an eye.

Now, the Gerakan’s was a slow motion long blink but still a blink - 39 years in fact. The party was crushed.