KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan vice-president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai has announced that he will contest the party president's post in the upcoming election on Nov 17.
Lau, who stood and lost in Batu in the 14th General Election, said he plans to restore the party's image following its disastrous electoral outing.
"I am taking this opportunity (to contest) and contribute to the party to ensure that Gerakan can rise again and make sure its image is restored.
"First and foremost, the party must regain the people's trust and mandate, and secondly, we must stabilise Gerakan's position as an independent party," he said during a press conference here today.
Outgoing Gerakan president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong had said he would not defend his post after the party's dismal performance in GE14 on May 9.
It was reported that Gerakan deputy president Dr Cheah Soon Hai had refused an offer to become acting party president.
Gerakan became an independent party after opting to leave the Barisan Nasional coalition, which it had been a member of since 1972.
Gerakan, which used to be the dominant political party in Penang, does not have a single seat in Parliament nor any of the state assemblies.
Nomination day for Gerakan's party election has been set for Nov 10.
It is estimated that hundreds of delegates representing some 300,000 registered Gerakan members nationwide will elect the new party leadership.
Lau said Gerakan performed poorly in the last three general elections as it suffered from an "ideological blockage" during its time as a BN component party.
He also said this caused Gerakan members to lose faith in the party.
"Now that Gerakan has exited BN and become independent, we can go all out and fight for our ideologies.
"Gerakan must ensure that party members have a sense of belonging," he said.
Lau also not discount the possibility of Gerakan forging alliances with other political parties.
He, however, said the party's main focus was to restore its image and elect a new central leadership.
"Political alliances are not the main focus but we can discuss the idea of working with parties with similar ideologies," he said.
Lau also said he would ensure that Gerakan's new leadership did not include leaders from the previous ruling government.
