Go gracefully, Jui Meng advises Tsu Koon as Umno, even Vincent Tan attacks

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PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng has advised his former colleague Koh Tsu Koon to "go gracefully" from the BN coalition of which the 62-year Gerakan president been a member since the 1980s.

"If I were Tsu Koon, I would go gracefully. But I must also say it is not right for BN treat Tsu Koon this way. After all, he did contribute to their coalition in the past, no doubt in his own way and also in the way that they required him to," Jui Meng, a former Health minister and MCA vice president, told Malaysia Chronicle.

"The thing is, if you don't want him, just tell him so. Don't make a circus of it all and tar him until he has no dignity left. I think Tsu Koon should leave a heartless coalition like the BN. He should become an Independent or else join Pakatan. Whichever his decision, the point is, don't allow yourself to be kicked like this. It's not worth it."

Berjaya's Vincent Tan fires a rare salvo

The move to unseat Tsu Koon began a year ago. Slowly but surely it gained pace. In the past weeks, the UMNO-instigated momentum spearheaded by its twin newspapers Utusan and Berita Harian has been tremendous, reaching eruption point.

Tsu Koon, who headed the Penang state government for 18 years, has given hints that he will not contest any seat in Penang . This was seen as a move to placate the state UMNO, widely suspected to be the prime-mover against him.

But it looks like UMNO, the BN's boss, wants him out completely and before the next general election, widely expected to be held by the end of this year. They have continued to fire salvos at him mercilessly.

Adding to the commotion was Vincent Tan. The billionaire tycoon is among the latest to join the chorus of criticism against the flailing Tsu Koon.

Vincent's property flagship Berjaya Land Bhd issued a statement on Wednesday that the group withdrew from the Penang hill project during the 1990s due to Koh's indecisiveness.

“Owing to such delay and uncertainty and the non-committal attitude of Dr Koh towards the Penang Hill development, Berjaya reluctantly made the decision to withdraw from the project,” BLand CEO Francis Ng said in the statement.

Praises for his replacement

Hot on Vincent's heels was Tan Siok Choo, the daughter of Tun Tan Siew Sin and granddaughter of Tun Sir Tan Cheng Lock  both of whom were former MCA presidents.

It may have been coincidental, but taken together with the recent Tsu Koon-bashing, their comments raised eyebrows.

Siok Choo did not run down Tsu Koon but she praised his successor DAP Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, which given Koh's current situation may be worse than any insult Vincent or UMNO could hurl.

“The fact that he has been able to run Penang without much contribution from the federal government and yet turn in, yet attract one of the highest rates of investment, I think speaks for itself. And this is barring the fact that when my father was in politics, Kit Siang never had a good word to say about my father. So there is history between our two fathers but I think one must give Guan Eng his due,” Malaysian Insider reported her as saying.