PETALING JAYA: The resignations of two Gerakan leaders in Penang have highlighted discontent over the party’s alliance with PAS and concerns about its leadership, analysts say.
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said some members were unhappy with Gerakan’s apparent shift to the right.
“Some leaders, both young and old, appear to think that Perikatan Nasional, since its leadership was taken over by PAS and Bersatu was weakened, has shown theocratic tendencies that are ultimately at odds with Gerakan’s secular character,” he told FMT.
Lau Zhe Wei of the International Islamic University Malaysia said some members were uncomfortable with what they saw as Gerakan’s subservience to PAS, which leads PN. However, some former Gerakan members had joined Wawasan and the PAS non-Muslim wing.
“I would not say those who resigned are necessarily uncomfortable with PAS, because they might eventually join another party associated with PAS. One thing is certain: Gerakan no longer seems able to attract or retain many leaders, or even members,” he said.
On Sept 6, Penang Gerakan Youth chief Tan Zhen Zune resigned from his youth wing position as well as party deputy secretary-general, citing dissatisfaction with the leadership and decisions he said had compromised the party’s principles. He remains a party member.
The New Straits Times reported that Tan had repeatedly raised his concerns with the leadership. He said his objection was not to working with PAS or Umno, but to doing so at the expense of Gerakan’s principles. He also cited statements by PAS that he considered extreme.
Three days later, former Gerakan national treasurer H’ng Chee Wey resigned after 31 years with the party. He did not disclose his reasons but posted a cryptic message on Facebook, saying that while political differences were normal in a democracy, “there is no need to become sworn enemies, nor is there any need to attack each other or even turn against each other”.
At odds with party leadership
A Gerakan insider told FMT that the resignations reflected some dissatisfaction with party president Dominic Lau’s push for closer ties with PAS which the source said "does not treat us as an ally and always attacks our president. They don’t respect Gerakan”.
“But whenever they need votes PAS will come to us and other PN component parties. We don’t want to be a second fiddle within PN. This is why members in Penang are dissatisfied.”
Tensions between Dominic and PAS leaders have surfaced before. In August 2023, Dominic was chased away from a PAS ceramah in Tasek Gelugor by a state party leader.
Penang PAS leaders also objected to Dominic contesting the Bayan Lepas seat in the 2023 state election. He came under criticism at the PAS general assembly in 2025, prompting PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan and vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar to apologise.
However, the insider said some Gerakan members, particularly in Kedah, wanted the alliance to continue. The source said the partnership could help Gerakan contest mixed seats held by PKR and Barisan Nasional, amid shifting political alliances, including cooperation between PN parties and BN in Negeri Sembilan.
Not a sign of wider revolt
Fauzi said the resignations did not necessarily signal a wider revolt against Gerakan’s membership in PN, noting that Tan had retained his party membership. Instead, he said, they could prompt discussions about Gerakan’s future as a multiracial party.
“There is still broad agreement with the party’s principles, but concerns about its future are being openly expressed. If the current leadership does not take precautions, the situation could worsen.
“Discontented members hope the resignations will trigger further internal deliberations, making the grassroots aware of any changes to the party’s ideological direction and what these mean for its response to issues,” he said.
Zhe Wei said the resignations also reflected grassroots anger over what members saw as PAS’s mistreatment and marginalisation of Gerakan.
He cited the appointment of a PAS member as village chief of a Chinese new village in Negeri Sembilan, a position he said could have gone to Gerakan. He also pointed to Penang PAS’s objections to Dominic contesting the Bayan Lepas seat.
Gerakan urged to rethink role
Zhe Wei said Gerakan should reconsider its membership in PN, noting that it had failed to win more seats despite the coalition’s gains in recent elections.
“Why not leave PN and stand on its own, or join Bersatu? Who knows, perhaps Gerakan could gain support 10 years down the road,” he said, referring to divisions between Bersatu and PAS within PN.
“Maybe it will not gain support either. But compared with staying in PN and putting up with PAS’s current treatment of Gerakan, I think it is worth taking the risk of leaving the coalition,” he added.
Fauzi said Gerakan could not blame PAS or PN for its electoral difficulties. Instead, it needed to reassess its policies and positions, given its failure to win non-Malay voters from Pakatan Harapan, particularly DAP.
“If PN’s true colours are increasingly being exposed through PAS’s allegedly extreme positions, Gerakan must decide whether to stay. If it wants to remain, it may have to change some of its hardline secularist positions, which could ultimately bring it into conflict with PAS.
“But that risks unrest among ideological hardliners in the party who would oppose what they see as an abandonment of its cherished principles. Nobody is forcing Gerakan to stay in PN,” he said.