PETALING JAYA, May 15 -- Penang Gerakan leader Teng Chang Yeow must not give up despite being defeated in the 14th general election, his party colleague Oh Tong Keong said today.

Oh who is Penang Gerakan vice-chairman said the grassroots have Teng’s back and hoped the latter will continue to lead them to be an effective "check-and-balance” against the state Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.

"All this while, the Penang Gerakan under Teng Chang Yeow’s leadership has played a certain ‘check and balance’ role, he can be said to be the Penang Gerakan spiritual leader.

"For the sake of continuing the struggle of the party, we need a talented, capable and a leader of calibre to lead us, especially the youth members,” he said in a statement.

Gerakan, a Barisan Nasional (BN) component party, lost all 13 parliamentary and 40 state seats contested in Penang.

Oh also said that the party’s defeat in the May 9 polls was not Teng’s fault, attributing the failure to win a single seat at state or federal level to a "people’s tsunami” instead.

"We view this as a collective responsibility to be borne together.

"Gerakan was established in Penang and even though we were dealt with a heavy blow in the general elections this time, we still need to defend and protect this family,’’ he said.

Founded in 1968 as an Opposition party but joined the Alliance Party, the frontrunner to the present day BN coalition in 1972.

Oh said the party has consistently fought to improve the quality of life for Malaysians of all races, be it in politics, economy, education and even their culture.