Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (pix) had wanted to pull the party out of Barisan Nasional (BN) three years ago after some Umno members desecrated his picture.
Party secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow said six to seven Gerakan leaders met on the night of Sept 8, 2008 after the former chief minister's picture was removed from the wall of an Umno division and torn into pieces during a press conference.
Teng said he was at the party pow-wow and Koh, like others present, was very angry.
He said despite this, Koh maintained his composure and there was no outburst of emotion.
"While someone suggested staging a protest in front of the Umno building, Koh decided to pull the party out of the Barisan Nasional. However, others did not agree and advised him to wait and see."
Teng, who was Koh's political secretary for seven years when the latter helmed the state, revealed the untold story in an interview published in China Press today.
However, he declined to name who advised Koh against a pullout from BN.
In the September 2008 incident, Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail, who made headlines for making racist remarks against the Chinese, was holding a press conference at the division's premises when supporters removed a picture of Koh from the wall, stepped on it and tore it to pieces.
Seven hours later, Koh called for a meeting of Penang division and branch chiefs during which Penang Gerakan passed a resolution to sever ties with state Umno.
The relationship between Penang Gerakan and Penang Umno warmed up again only last year.
However, Koh's image took a plunge after the incident and he was criticised as being weak for not standing up to Penang Umno's taunts.
Asked whether he would contest in the upcoming general election, Teng said he has entered business since BN lost Penang in the last election and his perceptions of power and position have changed, and he does not have a strong desire to do battle again.
>> Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall in danger of being de-registered
THE Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall is in danger of being de-registered if it cannot provide the Registrar of Societies (ROS) an acceptable explanation for holding its annual general meeting earlier this year despite a lack of quorum.
Chin Nam Yee, who was elected the new president at the meeting confirmed with Sin Chew Dailyon Wednesday that ROS, acting on complaints that the meeting was held without quorum, had asked the Chinese assembly hall to show cause before Sept 26.
He urged those with ulterior motives to stop running down the Chinese assembly hall.
"In the event that the Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall is de-registered, the organisation's building, which is worth more than RM2 million, will be forfeited," he said.
He also said the new leadership is not to blame if the organisation is de-registered.
"We are not to blame. The previous leadership should be held responsible as the AGM was conducted by them.
"They should take the blame for conducting the meeting without a quorum," he said.
Chin said the organisation received a letter dated Aug 16 from ROS seeking an explanation for holding the meeting on June 12 without a quorum.
According to its constitution, the Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall needs 86 members to make the quorum but only 53 attendees were recorded when the meeting started.
The question of quorum was brought up at the start of the meeting but then president Chan Swee Yen and speaker Wang Zhi Zhong insisted the quorum was met based on the number of members who turned up to vote for the election of the new office-bearers on the day of the meeting and a day earlier.
