GE16 is approaching. Every party is preparing. But one party has been almost forgotten. Once a political powerhouse, now it's just a small footnote in Malaysian politics. Gerakan.

Gerakan has not won a single parliamentary seat since 2018. Its last electoral victory of any kind was a single state seat in Kedah in 2023. Before that? You have to go back to 2013 for its last parliamentary win. 

How did the mighty fall so far?

The Fall

Gerakan was once the dominant party in Penang. From 1969 to 2008, it led the state. It was the party that represented the voice of moderation, the party that Chinese Malaysians turned to as an alternative to DAP.

Then came the 2008 political tsunami, and Gerakan was wiped out in its own backyard. It stayed in Barisan Nasional, hoping to rebuild. It didn't. After BN's defeat in 2018, Gerakan left the coalition. It tried to go it alone as a third force. That didn't work either. So in 2021, it joined Perikatan Nasional. It thought it had found a new home.

But even in PN, Gerakan has been a token partner at best. Everything follows what the majority says. It is, practically speaking, a pushover.

A Bridge That Gets Walked On

Gerakan's role in PN is clear: it is the bridge to the Chinese community. PN chairman Samsuri Mokhtar himself said Gerakan is an "important bridge" between the coalition and the Chinese community. In other words, Gerakan exists so PN can say, "Look, we're multiracial."

But being a bridge means you get walked on. And Gerakan has been walked on repeatedly. Its voice in coalition decisions is minimal. Its influence is negligible. Its identity has become indistinguishable from the broader PN narrative.

Penang Gerakan Youth chief Tan Zhen Zune — before his resignation — asked bluntly whether the party was "genuinely treated as a partner or merely used to demonstrate that the coalition was multiracial". He questioned: "When it comes to policies, direction, seat allocations and major decisions, we have to honestly ask: 'To what extent is Gerakan's voice actually heard?'"

The answer, increasingly, is "not very much."

The Unravelling

On September 6, 2026, Tan Zhen Zune resigned from all his party leadership positions, stating that the party had lost its direction and he could no longer support a political path he did not believe in. 

His resignation was not a sudden impulse. He said he had repeatedly raised his concerns with the party's top brass before deciding to step down. "We can work with anyone, but what I disagree with is that we cannot sacrifice our own principles," he said. "I cannot continue forcing myself to accept a path that I myself do not believe in".

He also warned that Gerakan leaders were often left explaining or defending controversial statements made by coalition partners, while sometimes choosing to remain silent. "The result? We have yet to truly gain Malay support, while non-Malay support is increasingly slipping away," he said.

The Identity Crisis

Gerakan's position is becoming increasingly untenable. On one hand, it supports closer cooperation between PN and BN ahead of GE16. President Dominic Lau has said the party views PN-BN cooperation positively, pointing to the Negeri Sembilan model as an example that could be built upon. "For me, clearly, if we want to win more, it is better and more positive for us to be together with BN," he said.

On the other hand, its own members are questioning whether the party has any principles left. The party that once stood for moderation, for multiracialism, for a balanced approach to governance, has become a rubber stamp for a coalition dominated by PAS and Bersatu. 

What does Gerakan even stand for anymore? Its stance has been neutral, compassionate, moderate. But every party claims that now. In a crowded political landscape, what does Gerakan actually offer that no one else does?

The Questions That Need Answers

Here are a few genuine questions for Gerakan.

First, what is your future direction? The party has been weak for years, vocal but without real strength. When you speak, does anyone actually listen? Or have you become the party that makes statements no one reads and takes stands no one notices? Dominic Lau has said Gerakan has already identified seats it wants to contest, but the party has been saying similar things for years with little to show for it.

Second, when PN coalition partners disrespect your stance, what will you do? Your Youth chief just quit because he felt the party had lost its way. He warned that Gerakan was "caught in the middle", with Malay voters having larger Malay-based parties to choose from while non-Malay voters were increasingly finding it difficult to accept Gerakan. If PAS or Bersatu pushes you aside, will you push back — or just quietly accept it?

Third, what makes you special? In a crowded political landscape, what do you actually offer that no one else does? If the answer is "nothing," then Gerakan is not a party. It is a logo.

Gerakan Facing Irrelevance

GE16 is approaching. Every party is preparing. But Gerakan seems to be preparing for the same outcome it has had for the past three elections — irrelevance. The party that once governed Penang, that once had a voice in national politics, is now fighting for scraps of relevance.

Lau has said Gerakan would support any form of cooperation that could improve PN's electoral prospects. "We welcome anything that can help PN win and establish the next government," he said. But cooperation without identity is not a strategy. It is a surrender.

It is about time Gerakan made some noise. Or don't. Or nothing at all. The party has been quiet for so long that it has become invisible. And in Malaysian politics, invisibility is a death sentence.

Gerakan may still exist. But the question is: for how long?