PETALING JAYA: Gerak Initiative Movement (Gerak), a group of independent individuals, has announced that it will field 10 candidates in the 15th general election.

       It named six of them as lawyer-activist Siti Kasim, former MP Tawfik Ismail, former journalist Charles CJ Chow, social activist Raveentheran Suntheralingam, activist KJ John and Sabah-based lawyer Roland Cheng.

       Gerak, which consists of a group of individuals from various NGOs and non-governmental individuals (NGIs) was launched in August 2020 and is spearheaded by the Malaysian Action for Justice and Unity Foundation (Maju).

       Siti, who is Maju founder and Gerak spokesperson, said the number was set to 10 “due to the in-depth scrutiny”.

       She explained that members of the public could also offer themselves to be Gerak’s candidates by interacting with the group through the newly-launched “Gerak Independent” mobile application.

       “It is not easy to find the right candidate and even more difficult to pass the scrutiny,” she said when contacted yesterday.

       Earlier, Gerak held a press conference to announce its plans to contest in GE15.

       Siti said Gerak wanted to end divisive politics, deliver the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), restore guaranteed freedoms and institutional power and establish a needs-based affirmative policy.

       On public sentiment favouring fresher and younger candidates, Siti said age or gender is not relevant to Gerak.

       Tawfik, formerly Umno’s Sungai Benut (now Simpang Renggam) MP in Johor, did not confirm at the press conference if he would contest the same seat.

       He said Gerak will not only contest in urban areas but also aims to fight in places “where bullfrogs thrive”.