PETALING JAYA: DAP leader Lim Kit Siang is “ill-qualified” to accuse others of racism when there are those within the Opposition pact itself who promote a racist agenda, said Barisan Nasional.
The party’s strategic communications team accused Lim of hypocrisy for working with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whom DAP had once called “the most racist person in Malaysia”.
It also questioned the Opposition party’s decision to work with Pribumi president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who once proclaimed that he is “Malay first, Malaysian second”.
“Today, the party who proclaims in their constitution to want a ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ is now working with the ‘number one racist’ and the ultra-extremist from Pribumi whose stated aim is to be Bumiputra first to save Malaysia,” the team said in a statement, Saturday.
They criticised Lim and DAP for not taking action against their own members, such as “Superman” Hew Kuan Yau, for making racially insensitive remarks. Hew quit the party in July last year.
“DAP had also attacked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as racist for commenting that there was a Chinese Tsunami in GE13 and that the government will work harder to win back their support.
“But when the Johor DAP Chairman Liew Chin Tong makes numerous statements that there could be a Malay Tsunami, Kit Siang hypocritically does not seem to think this is racist,” they said.
Barisan also accused Lim of lacking principles for calling on his rivals to resign based on allegations but not asking his own son, Lim Guan Eng, to step down as Penang Chief Minister pending his court case on twin corruption charges.
It also claimed that DAP had flip-flopped on RUU355, having in the past agreed to allow PAS to pursue its Islamic agenda.
“Before GE13, Guan Eng had signed a joint-letter with PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang that declared that PAS has the right to pursue their Islamic State agenda but today, DAP is PAS’ biggest enemy because PAS tried to exercise that right.”
Barisan also called on Lim to publicly declare that he will defend his Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in the upcoming general election, following recent rumours that he would be abandoning his constituency to contest elsewhere.
This would prove that Lim still had “some principles left”, said the party.
“Alternatively, to run away from Gelang Patah now may signal to the rakyat that you lack principles or more seriously, the confidence that brought you to the seat in the previous general elections have deserted Pakatan,” the strategic communications team added.-thestar
