YOURSAY | ‘Indeed, none of them is likely to win. Why split opposition votes?’

COMMENT | Has Gerak Independent lost the plot?

Gerak Independent loses Subang candidate

5impleMind: I totally agree with Malaysiakini columnist P Gunasegaram that Gerak has lost its plot.

Yes, I had high regard for human rights lawyer Siti Kassim and former Sungai Benut MP Tawfik Ismail and their aspirations.

But Gerak Independent's (GI) targeted constituencies puzzled me though.

I am sure GI is intelligent enough to know that without the backing of a coalition, regardless of which, their chances of winning a seat is zero.

So, what's behind this "I know we'll not win here but we'll contest anyway" adventure? Was all their earlier rhetoric just a show?

MW: In one of the first interviews I read about their selection of seats, Siti mentioned a history of crossovers among a host of other reasons, which I find odd as many of the seats they chose to contest in do not have a history of crossover, unless she was referring to PKR in general and not the specific seats selected.

Personally, I feel that if they want to make a point, they should go after seats with the worst-performing MPs and where the MPs really do have a history of crossovers, regardless of which coalition or party the seats belong to.

Their current selections don't make much sense and they can't blame the public for being sceptical.

Tembikai: Just think for one moment if you are going to be a candidate for GE15. You know you can deliver results and you want to make sure you have a good chance of winning. Where would you stand?

Surely not a seat where you know you have less chance of winning. I believe that is what the GI candidates are thinking.

These candidates have been outspoken and calling a spade a spade. Moreover, in their voluntary work, they have delivered results.

I will give them my vote if any one of them is running in my constituency.

Lord Black Adder: GI has not done their homework from an electoral perspective and studied the constituency map or the voting intentions and issues. This whole collective gives the impression that it has been hatched after some coffee shop political natter.

Furthermore, both MP for Subang, Wong Chen, and MP for Batu, P Prabakaran, are diligent and have super-majorities.

As an MP, Wong Chen is the real deal. Did Charles CJ Chow who withdrew actually think he was going to win in Subang? Good that he has saved himself some embarrassment as he would have lost his deposit.

Bluemountains: I am quite certain Chow decided to quit because GI was going after Harapan seats instead of fighting BN/PN. Kudos to you, Chow.

For the rest of GI, I hope they will come to their senses. In the first place, GI was formed to fight the injustice of BN/PN; not to fight Harapan.

Constitutional Supremacy: All GI candidates are in their 60s and 70s. At this age, they should be playing with their grandchildren.

These people are activists. They are not suitable to be in politics. In politics, you sometimes need to compromise and this will be alien to them. They only know how to oppose.

Age is not on their side to serve the constituents. They may be planning to make some noise in Parliament. But the opposition has capable MPs to do this.

BlueShark1548: Indeed, none of them is likely to win. Why split opposition votes? You serve the rakyat better by working as NGOs or serving in Harapan-controlled states like Selangor and Penang.

Why seek political positions when you know you cannot make any impact?

Bamboo: GI is not helping to usher in a better Malaysia. They are competing with Harapan in urban seats which are low hanging fruits.

GI taps into the dissatisfaction of urban voters for Harapan to clean the mess of over 60 years of Umno reign in 22 months. This is the easy way out.

GI should go to semi-urban constituencies to get parliamentary seats, not fighting for urban seats with Harapan.

Do Not Buy Frogs: The fact remains that Malaysia very badly needs MPs who are smart, educated, literate and with no gender and racial bias, and who will go to Parliament to try and change laws for the better.

So instead of criticising, at least support new contenders like Siti Kasim and gang. They may be still learning, but their hearts and minds are in the right place. Let’s give them a chance.

Straight Citizen: I actually had high hopes for each GI candidate, even Charles Chow.

My fear is that the fighting spirit of these individuals doesn't seem strong enough to hold them to the cause of adding a credible third voice to the Parliament. They have the integrity to shun corrupt political party overtures and be guided by a higher moral compass.

Anyway, it's better that Chow call it a day now before he chickened out midway and ended up further disappointing all of us Malaysians in the future.

GreenMoose7204: On one hand, you complain so much about the way things are now being run in Parliament, yet on the other hand you are only willing to contest seats held by the opposition.

This shows you all are either confused about what you want to do or just following blindly what others are doing when they allowed the legitimate government to be replaced.

You want to change things, go for seats of those that betrayed the majority of Malaysians.

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