Former Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik dismissed his successor Koh Tsu Koon's suggestion that their rift was caused by a "misunderstanding".

azlan "What misunderstanding? If it had been a misunderstanding, then it must have been a very big misunderstanding," said Lim when contacted today.

In a statement today, Koh said he spoke to Lim, when he was still advisor of the party, about a simmering revolt against the Penang party leadership up to the middle of last month.

He said that they have not communicated since and thus Lim could have misunderstood how the party leadership was handling the crisis.

Lim had unexpectedly launched a scathing attack against Koh yesterday, claiming that his handpicked successor had failed miserably in handling the Penang issue.

Calling Koh an "ostrich" that buries his head in the sand instead of resolving party conflicts, Lim also announced his resignation as party advisor.

Party leaders are scrambling for a solution to contain the latest fallout, which has further weakened the already battered party.

‘Hope this shakes Koh up'

Deputy president Chang Ko Youn confirmed that the central executive committee will be convening a meeting tonight and will discuss ways to convince Lim to retract his resignation.

Lim remained coy when asked repeatedly if he was willing to listen to Koh's possible attempts to clear up the said "misunderstanding".

"Now that I have resigned, I hope this will shake him up," said Lim.

He insisted that Koh, as a leader, should have resolved the crisis in Penang instead of letting it fester.

"Politicians will know what to do. He should know how to settle Penang," said Lim, who sounded uncharacteristically guarded during the brief telephone interview.

According to a report by The Malaysian Insider today, Lim had claimed that Gerakan was "going to the dogs" under Koh's leadership.

Lim said that this was the sentiment of the party grassroots but no one dared to voice it out. He also hinted that it was unlikely that he could be convinced to recant on his decision to quit.