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Till then, Chia was Keng Yaik's blue-eyed boy. At a meeting, he even told the press that Chia was the best Secretary General the party ever had. Hence, it was no surprise that Chia should succeed Tsu Koon in Penang,. But in this case it was clear Keng Yaik placed his legacy and the position of his son, Si Pin, higher than his favouritism for Chia. Soon after nomination was made and cornered by Chia supporters from Penang, a furious Keng Yaik retored: "Who is Chia? I put him there!"

With Chia out of the race, Tsu Koon and Keng Yaik now focused on persuading Prime Minister Abdullah to accept Dr Teng as the next Chief Minister. Abdullah had wanted a younger person and requested Gerakan to consider either Lee Kah Choon or Teng Chang Yeow. Both Tsu Koon and Keng Yaik 'argued' with PM Abdullah armed with a justification that most of UMNO and MCA top state leaders were in their sixties. They said an exception should be made for the top position and insisted that Dr Teng had the seniority to deal with leaders of other component parties. Prime Minister Abdullah was not convinced. Dr Teng's patchy performance as a state assemblyman was an easy target for the Opposition.

By promoting a Chinese-educated candidate to be the next Chief Minister, the party confirmed media speculation that Gerakan was a Chinese-dominated party advancing a narrow Chinese agenda. But it also meant that Dr Teng Hock Nan was suddenly back in the race although Tsu Koon still refused to announce the party's candidate for Chief Minister. He gave the impression that it was a private party matter which did not have to be discussed publicly. This decision was heavily exploited by the DAP, which accused Gerakan of heave-handedness. It also gave the impression that public opinion did not matter in the selection of the next Chief Minister of Penang. Tsu Koon reacted by saying "just because DAP is asking, do you think I should dance to their tune?" and when pushed further, he responded, rather ineptly, "have the voters been asking?"

Finally, under media pressure, Tsu Koon announced that there were three candidates in the running including Dr Teng, his ex-political secretary Teng Chang Yeow and Lee Kah Choon. All three, Tsu Koon claimed, had been "asked to prepare themselves psychologically to be Chief Minister. At this point, Keng Yaik waded into the controversy. When asked who among the three should be the next CM, Keng Yaik replied that it would be "the one with the highest number of votes!"

The issue of Tsu Koon's successor could have been a non-issue if Gerakan had a more dynamic and capable leadership. None of the candidates, other than Dr Teng Hock Nan, took matters into their own hands. Dr Teng battled against being side-lined, managed to become the front-runner and when he felt abandoned mid-stream, he made a press statement putting himself back into the race. But neither Chia, Lee or the younger Teng were able to position themselves for the job. Chia's credibility took a severe beating when his brother Chia Loong Thye was nominated for the "safe" seat of Tanjong Bungah. Both Chia brothers were regarded as "boh chee ghee" (lack of integrity) for having sold-out and compromised the party.

But ultimately, the fault has to lie with Dr Koh Tsu Koon for having warned Penangites about their precarious economic position, only to refuse naming a suitable replacement for the top job. Gerakan had forgotten Chong Eu's promise of innovating leadership. Its Acting President misread a genuine and legitimate public concern as an "opposition" gimmick. His costly decision was to allow UMNO President Abdullah to pick his successor. Dr Koh was heavily criticised by the Opposition as well as the electorate for conceding power so openly to UMNO. This confirmed Gerakan's subservient position within the Barisan Nasional.

The rest, as they say, is history after March 8. The Gerakan indecision over the succeeding Chief Minister remains purely an academic equation as all contenders, like all men, are cremated equal in the unprecedented political tsunami.

Moving forward, Dr Toh writes in the foreword, Gerakan needs to return to basics as advocated by the party's founders. "This implies that the party needs to stay firm and true to a non-racial approach that eschews racism," he says.

Dr Toh further states that Gerakan can either stay in the BN and have more of the same.

"Stay to seek reforms from within the coalition," he adds. "Or should it fail to do so within the time span set, it must then seriously consider leaving the BN and to independently develop the party as a serious multi-racial social democratic party."

Tsu Koon is seen to be readying himself to seek election as the party's chief at a time Gerakan is at its weakest in terms of political representation within BN. Can he thumb nose at Umno now for the 18 years he built a political squalid of hopeless submission when he had substantial chips on his table?

We wished he must have realised by now the missed opportunities he had had, for himself as someone who reigned for 18 years as the Chief Minister of Penang, that to uplift the meaning of non-sectarian politics in Malaysia was his political capital far more astounding in the past, not present nor in the foreseeable future. Seeking a back-door return as an appointed minister during Abdullah's mid-term Cabinet reshuffle is yet unthinkable as the Prime Minister himself may find himself without a job in the near future.

Don't rest on laurels

Nevertheless, I don't think Penang's new state government, particularly the backbone of this administration provided by DAP, should rest their laurels by treating that Gerakan has been annihilated, diminished and finished.

On the contrary, the co-authors have a lot of well-intended advice that all should sit tight and listen. Quote:

So much depends upon the Opposition and how successful they can be. They already hold power in five States. But with such pitiful lack of experience it will be very difficult indeed for them to succeed in governing without a great deal of public forbearance. The big question is not the mistakes they will inevitably make, but how big will the blunders be?

And apart from their administrative inexperience, how long can they agree amongst themselves without falling out? Apart from PAS who administer Kelantan only Anwar Ibrahim and his previous associates in UMNO have experience in Government. So a much needed spell in opposition for UMNO may fail to materialise if the Opposition parties fall at the first hurdle.

History may be grim but it is forever truthful when chronicled well.

As for Penang, as history goes, all Chief Ministers were wiped out from the political arena in humiliating defeat in the hands of the Penangites who cast their votes with courage and in valour. MCA's Wong Pow Nee was defeated in 1969. Lim Chong Eu was defeated in 1990. Koh Tsu Koon was defeated in 2008.

Hitherto with the exception of Tsu Koon, who is still licking his wounds self-inflicted some four months ago, all former CMs faded to the dark chapters of history whose past glory not many would venture to re-enact, let alone to reinvent.

All these happened because the leadership stopped placing their ears listening close to the ground, and secondly, evils happen because good men do nothing to stop them. DAP's Lim Guan Eng must stop this curse from happening again.

Meanwhile, non-sectarian politics take a meandering track as Umno tries the overtures to elope with PAS anchored on the supremacy of the Malays and their common religion. Contrast this against Gerakan's effectiveness in the quest for non-sectarian politics within the confines of Barisan Nasional since 1974, and you see the mirage through the lapses and phases of time passed. Cold and dead.

Non-Sectarian Politics in Malaysia: The Case of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia is published by Trafalgar Publishing House. Website: www.trafalgarhouse.com.my. Tel: 03-2171758.

It's priced at RM28.00 and available via Kinibooks.