PETALING JAYA: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang (pix) said a victory for Warisan candidate for Kimanis by-election, Karim Bujang on Jan 18 will be an endorsement for Sabah and Malaysia’s nation buiding formula of inter-racial and inter-religious unity, cooperation, understanding and tolerance.
He said for the past 20 months since Pakatan Harapan took over as government, he has been attacked as the greatest threat to Malay rights and interests in the country, and had reduced the Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to a mere puppet to further his ulterior agenda as a Chinese chauvinist and a communist.
And yet to the Chinese, Lim has also been attacked as having sold out the rights and interest of Chinese in Malaysia and had become a puppet and running dog to Mahathir.
“We must reject all these lies, fake news, hate speech and most irresponsible extremism in Sabah and Malaysia for Mahathir is not my puppet and neither have I become Mahathir’s ‘running dog’,” he said in his statement today.
He also said what is most shocking is that these irresponsible extremists who spout such contradictory lies, fake news, hate speech, could cooperate politically to want to destroy the Pakatan Harapan-Warisan government in Putrajaya and Sabah.
“In the past 20 months, there is a most dangerous and irresponsible polarisation of multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious Malaysia, through lies, fake news and hate speech, aided by the ever-present Internet and social media, threatening to tear the country apart instead of the country benefitting from the great diversities in the country.
“It is a lie that Mahathir is my puppet. It is also a lie that I have become a ‘running dog’ to Mahahthir. But what is most shocking of all, is how the preachers of these shocking and contradictory lies could co-operate, if they really believe in their lies, fake news and hate speech?”
He added that it is not only Sabah and Malaysia that is facing the dangers of extreme polarisation. He gave the example of the recent Indonesian presidential elections, where for instance, Jokowi was attacked as a Chinese and a communist.
“We must not allow these preachers of lies, fake news, hate speech and irresponsible extremism on the social media to succeed, for Sabah and Malaysia can only become great if we can turn our ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious diversities into our assets instead of our liabilities,” he said.
