KUALA LUMPUR: Political analyst Syed Abdul Razak Alsagoff offered himself as a candidate for one of the three elected posts of Gerakan vice-president on Oct 26.
Syed Abdul Razak, 53, said he did so to negate the perception of certain quarters that Gerakan was dominated by one community, besides wanting to elevate the status of the party towards excellence.
The Selangor Gerakan committee member said that to enhance the status of the party, it was his desire to increase the number of Malay members by 15 to 20 per cent from the current five to seven per cent.
"I want to increase the number of Malay and Indian members to strike a balance in the Gerakan membership.
"I also wish to play an effective role so that people out there will not say that Gerakan is dominated by the Chinese but is a 1Malaysia party," he told Bernama.
He said the last time Gerakan had Malays in the top leadership was in 1968-1969 when Syed Husin Alatas was the president.
Syed Abdul Razak said he was confident that his fluency in Hokkien and Cantonese as well as English would hold him in good stead to entice the over 1,800 delegates who would vote next weekend.
Syed Abdul Razak had been an Umno member from 1989 to 1994 and had been the treasurer of the Jalan Sultan Ismail Branch before joining Gerakan in June 2008. He now heads the Kampung Melayu Subang branch.
Nominations for the posts of president, deputy president and vice-presidents would take place tomorrow. Voting will take place at the 42nd delegates' conference on Oct 26. - Bernama
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