PETALING JAYA: Gerakan has unanimously decided to leave the Barisan Nasional coalition, said the party's central committee in a press release on Saturday (June 23).
"The decision was made after serious and comprehensive deliberation, reflection and consideration of the current political developments of the country post-GE14. The sentiment of the grassroots was taken into consideration, while elections at the branch level are underway nationwide," said the central committee.
The committee added that it is "absolutely necessary" for Gerakan to embark on a new political journey with freedom, empowerment and an assertion in pursuing what the party believes is best for Malaysia and Malaysians.
"The decision is in line with the new aspirations, needs and demands of the people post-GE14, we decided that Gerakan must chart a new direction to sustain ourselves and continue our struggle," added the central committee.
It said that it leaves Barisan on good terms, adding that Gerakan will be an independent party in the Opposition bloc to offer a check-and-balance to the Pakatan Harapan government.
"We will cooperate with like-minded parties, individuals and groups in the national interest to uphold and defend the Federal Constitution, rule of law and democracy of Malaysia, we are most committed to preserving the Malaysian way of life as we know and we want collectively as Malaysians," said the central committee.
This comes after four Sarawak parties left Barisan Nasional on June 12 to form Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
The four are Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
With the announcement that Gerakan is leaving Barisan Nasional, this means that the coalition is down from 13 parties to the original three Alliance members - Umno, MCA and MIC (plus maybe MyPPP which is embroiled in an internal party struggle).
