KUALA LUMPUR: The Gerakan party, after being nearly wiped out in the general election, is seeking a resurrection of sorts tomorrow.

The Barisan Nasional component party will convene a closed-door briefing for its 2,000 central delegates at its headquarters here to chart its future direction. And this soul-searching journey coincides with Easter Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The meeting is expected to discuss the party's dismal performance at the elections, garner feedback from grassroots as well as address other national issues.

Acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon is expected to address the delegates, after which the floor would be open for all to voice their views.

In the elections, Gerakan won only two out of 12 parliamentary seats and lost 27 of 31 state seats contested.
The party also lost its crown jewel - Penang - to the DAP.

With such a beating at the hands of the opposition, would this meeting allow the party to heal, learn from its mistakes and move on?

"Yes," said party secretary-general Datuk Seri Chia Kwang Chye, who stressed that the Gerakan leadership was taking cognisance of its members' views.

In recent years, the self-styled "conscience of BN" seemed to have had its convictions watered down within the coalition, a fact that Chia admitted.

He felt this led to a lot of national issues not properly explained to the masses, a weakness which the opposition took advantage of.

Vice-president Datuk Dr S. Vijayaratnam said the briefing would help to reinforce confidence among disheartened members.

"We might have lost but the party carries on. It is not the end of the world and there are the next elections to look forward to," he said.

Another vice-president, Ng Lip Yong, said the party needed to formulate its next course of action.

"We did badly in the elections and there is no point in saying that everything's rosy now."