Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia  The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (, commonly abbreviated as GERAKAN or less commonly as PGRM) is a Perikatan Nasional (PN) -friendly political party in Malaysia. The party was founded on 24 March 1968, and is one of the former constituents of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. During its formation, Gerakan was an opposition party not affiliated with the national ruling coalition, the Alliance Party, the predecessor of the National Front. Following the 1969 general election, Gerakan won most of the seats in the state legislature of Penang. However, in 1972 Gerakan joined the Alliance Party which later became the coalition Barisan Nasional, where it remained until June 2018. In 2006, about 80% of Gerakan's members are ethnic Chinese, another 15% are Indian, and the rest are Malays or other races. The party is assisted by an affiliated think tank called SEDAR Institute (Socio-Economic Development And Research Institute). The party is a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. Following the fall of BN in the 2018 general election and in the aftermath of four Sarawak-based BN coalition parties leaving the coalition on 12 June 2018, Gerakan also left the coalition on 23 June 2018. In 1959, the leader of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Dr. Lim Chong Eu resigned his position as president after conflict with UMNO leader Tunku Abdul Rahman over the allocation of seats in the 1959 general election. He left MCA, and later set up the United Democratic Party (UDP) in 1962. In 1968, UDP was dissolved and its former members, together with the Labour Party and others, joined force to form a new party Gerakan. The six founders of the party were Professor Syed Hussain Alatas, Dr. Tan Chee Khoon, Dr. J.B.A. Peter, Lim Chong Eu, Professor Wang Gungwu, and V. Veerapan. Although the majority of its supporters were Chinese, the party positioned itself as a Malaysian, non-communal party that received some support from the Indians and Malays. Its pro tem president was Professor Syed Hussein Alatas, and later Lim took over the presidency which lasted until 1980. The party won the state of Penang in the 1969 general election by taking 16 out of 24 seats, winning control from the MCA. Lim Chong Eu became Penang's Chief Minister.