Penang Gerakan tells Umno warlord to take a hike

It appears that the relationship between the Bukit Bendera Umno division and Penang Gerakan is destined to remain strained. Penang Gerakan chief Dr Teng Hock Nan has refused to tender an apology as demanded by the Umno division's former chairman Ahmad Ismail, who is en route to reclaiming his old post.

“His asking Gerakan to apologise shows clearly he is still living on a 'mindset of racial dreams'. The question of Penang Gerakan apologising to him does not arise at all,” he said in a statement today.

Teng also said that Ahmad's statement went against Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia concept and Gerakan’s multi-racial ideology.

At a press conference yesterday, Ahmad said he would mend ties with Penang Gerakan only if it apologised to his division.

The local Umno warlord was suspended form his party for three years in 2008 for making racist remarks during an election rally.

His comments had drawn flak from both MCA and Gerakan, and some of Ahmad's supporters later tore posters of Gerakan president Koh Tsu Khoon. Following this incident, Penang Gerakan severed all ties with the Umno division.

Last December, the Umno supreme council lifted Ahmad's suspension and yesterday, all 36 Bukit Bendera Umno committee members resigned en bloc to pave the way for a fresh division elections so that their former leader could make a comeback.

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by FMT