The triple ten (Oct 10, 2010) calendar date may be auspicious for many but for Penang Gerakan chairperson Teng Hock Nan, it is D-Day when party delegates decide whether he continues to helm or quit the party.

penang gerakan pc 141008 teng hock nam After being brutally thrashed by the Pakatan Rakyat in Penang in the March 2008 general elections, Gerakan, especially its Penang chapter, is seeking reforms within the party. The party had ruled the state since 1969 before losing all its seats to DAP and PKR on that fateful March 8.

Today, Gerakan’s state liaison committee issued a notice to all the state’s 393 delegates calling for an emergency general meeting on Oct 10, at 10.30am at the party’s headquarters in Jalan Macalister.

State secretary Ong Thean Lye also officially sent a notice to the media announcing the controversial EGM for which the main agenda is: ‘To take a vote of no-confidence on present state chairperson Sdr Teng Hock Nan’ ( above ).

According to Ong’s statement, Penang Gerakan had received a requisition on Sept 17 for an EGM of the state’s delegates conference.

"As the said request has been verified to comply with Article 73.1 of the party’s constitution which deals with the EGM process, the meeting will be held on Oct 10," he said urging all the 393 delegates to turn up for the meeting to decide Teng’s fate in the party.

‘It is inevitable’

A spokesperson from the faction dubbed ‘Voice of the Grassroots’ which had been lobbying for the EGM, said that since the notice has been issued, there was no room for its cancellation.

Yeap Ban Choon said the purpose of the EGM was to get Gerakan back on track again and to reform it so that it ‘can rise from the ashes’.

penang gerakan agm 260910 pc "This EGM is inevitable [...] sometimes in order to achieve something good, one needs to be cruel to be kind," he said.

On Sunday, Teng had publicly declared that he will step down as state party chief if the EGM passed the motion calling for his resignation.

At the party’s AGM in Penang ( above ), Teng also told about 250 delegates that even after stepping down he would continue to work with the new chairperson.

If the motion calling for him to quit failed to be passed, he would continue as chief but would ask all members to close ranks for the sake of the party.

Open letter prepared

Yap, meanwhile, said there would be no canvassing to get members to pressure Teng to quit.

He insisted the EGM had nothing to do with ‘personal grudges’.

"We have only prepared an open letter explaining why we need the EGM," he said. "Teng has been very gracious and comfortable with that as we have done it internally and without much publicity," he said.

It is learnt that a number of representatives have indicated their interest to attend the 10-10-10 EGM.

Yap said that the party constitution states that at least 50 or two-thirds of the delegates need to pass a motion at an EHM for it to be valid.

"Politically and morally, if more than half of the representatives who attend vote for the no- confidence motion Teng should step down," he said.