Gerakan to form merger committee

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan will be setting up a five-man committee to complement the one established by MCA to look into the proposed merger of the two parties. 

Gerakan president Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said he welcomed the move by MCA to set up a committee to work on getting the parties together. 

“We will appoint a five-man committee to work out various possibilities and some form of schedule,” he said yesterday when commenting on the committee that MCA had set up to look into the matter. 

Dr Lim added that he welcomed the MCA’s open-minded attitude although the merger needed to be discussed in detail. 

He said there would be problems in getting the two parties together but that with sincerity, they would be overcome and solutions would be found. 

“I see a new era of co-operation and understanding forthcoming,” he said. 

He also quipped: “If it materialised, it would be a nice retirement present for me, but if it took longer, it would mean that I would be around longer.”  

Dr Lim pointed out that the merger could help reduce politicking within the Barisan Nasional and the parties could focus on facing challenges. 

He said they could then concentrate on ensuring that the Chinese community was not influenced by PAS. 

They could also focus on internal challenges and helping to build a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, he said.