I would have quit as Gerakan president if I had lost - Mah

Newly elected Teluk Intan MP Datuk Mah Siew Keong said that he was prepared to, and would have needed to, step down as Gerakan president if he had lost the by-election last night.

"I have no choice. If I had lost I would not have gotten the mandate to continue being Gerakan president, " Mah told the media during a walkabout to meet and than his constituents at the wet market here this morning.

Mah stressed that the rakyat would never have accepted a leader who lost three times in the elections.

"If I lost three times, I would take full responsibility over my lost for the party," said Mah, who just won the Teluk Intan by-election with a majority of 238 votes last night.

"Do you think that if you lost three times, you would still be a president of the party? If that happens, we would have no moral credibility."

Mah had obtained 20,157 votes to defeat DAP candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud who received 19,919 votes.

For his own political career, Mah said that he doubted he is planning to stay on long as Gerakan leader.

“If I had lost, Gerakan would suffer. If we had lost, we would have needed change. Maybe gotten a new leader to revitalise the party again.

He also said that a younger, and suitable replacement is being trained and scouted to take up the party's number one position.

“At the moment, I will continue for the time being and find a leader under me who is suitable to take over. I have already been in politics for over 20 years, since I was 34 years. I don't think I will stay long," he said.

In GE13 last year, Gerakan contested in seven parliament seats, including Teluk Intan but only won one.