He said being told to hold back meant that it was difficult for Gerakan to respond to criticisms that were expressed openly by PAS leaders.

“When (Gerakan) members see silence from the party, they lose faith in us. Instead of blaming PAS, we must turn this into our strength.

“We must show non-Muslims that Gerakan can be the balancing voice within Perikatan Nasional. That is the only way to win back their trust,” he said at the state Gerakan’s AGM here today.

During the recent PAS muktamar, several delegates, including Penang PAS Youth chief Hafis Alias, had criticised Gerakan.

Hafis alleged that Penang PN chief Dominic Lau, who is also the  as Gerakan president, lacked leadership and had failed to unite Bersatu and PAS at the state level.

Tan said Gerakan should rethink its Penang election strategy, noting the party has lost twice under the PN banner and may need to contest under its own flag again.

He also expressed concern over the coming change in the national youth age cap, which will be lowered from 40 to 30 next year.

He said if Gerakan were to adopt this change, many states would struggle to sustain a youth wing.

As a solution, he said, the party must work harder to attract new young members and re-engage those who had become inactive.

Tan also criticised Gerakan’s new slogan, “Chai Yok”, calling it awkward and confusing.

“For Chinese, especially those who speak the Hokkien and Teochew dialects, it even sounds like ‘jiak eok’, meaning ‘taking medicine’.

“And when you take medicine, it means something is wrong with you. A slogan should inspire people, not make them laugh or wonder what it means,” he said.

The term is a common Chinese expression of encouragement, typically spelled in pinyin as “jia you”, meaning “add oil”.