DAP elder statesman Lim Kit Siang, lamenting that there seems no end in sight to the simmering Najib-Mahathir feud, urged the 220 MPs to either rise above all and elect a new “save Malaysia” Prime Minister or be ready to face snap elections to settle the impasse. Already, another two parliamentary seats, Permatang Pauh and Rompin, face by-elections. The new prime minister, to replace Najib Abdul Razak he said, must be committed to constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation.
Lim, who is also DAP Parliamentary Leader and Gelang Patah MP, noted that there was indecision in Umno over who should replace Najib. Are Malaysians capable of rising to the unprecedented challenges and perils of the country, not only to envisage but to achieve, a new political construct to “save Malaysia” with a post-BN, post-PR Grand Coalition for the next 24-30 months?
What is the solution to the present impasse and multiple crises facing the country, he asks.
“We must be prepared to put our differences of the past to one side and concentrate all our energies on one common agenda, to save Malaysia from all centrifugal forces threatening to tear the country asunder,” pleaded Lim. “Umno is an incorrigible party set in the ways of money politics and abuses of power.”
“In fact, the greatest contribution that Umno can make to the healthy development of democratic politics and Malaysian nation-building was for it to go into the Opposition benches to allow the country to become a normal democratic country.”
The transition of power from one political coalition to another should not be regarded as a national catastrophe, he stressed, but a necessary rite of passage for a country to graduate to become a normal democracy.
In an unprecedented move, he pointed out, Umno Deputy President and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin doesn’t seem to be an automatic shoo-in. “Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has been mentioned as Prime Minister-designate as well.”
“If former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wants better and more accountable leaders for Umno in the years to come, and at the same time put an end to systemic corruption and improve the quality of the public institutions, the choice of successor must be Tengku Razaleigh.”
He attributed Umno’s dilemma in “no man’s land” to the party facing so many challenges within a very short space of time. “The nation has never before been so sick and wracked by so many crises. Umno was imploding as stated by a former Deputy Prime Minister.”
“Another former Umno Minister warned of a ‘Malay tsunami’ in the next general election. Najib’s belief that Umno warlords are behind him has led him to sign off on unpopular policies which could push the people to turn against him at the polls.”
Lim reeled off a list of challenges including the RM42 billion 1MDB financial scandal; the 6 per cent GST imposed on April 1; the worst racial and religious polarisation in the nation’s history with the unprecedented rise of extremism and intolerance as illustrated by the “cross” incident in Taman Medan in Selangor.
Among other issues, he continued, was the loss of national and international confidence in Najib as Prime Minister, major internal crisis in the two major political coalitions – Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat; and above all, the future and survival of the Merdeka Constitution of 1957 and the Federation formed in 1963 with Sabah and Sarawak. FMT
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