Is Barisan prepared to work with Pakatan to prevent violence, asks Kit Siang
By Lee Shi-Ian, The Malaysian Insider
As Putrajaya prepares for its third cabinet meeting this year today, questions have been raised whether Barisan Nasional is prepared to work with Pakatan Rakyat to prevent a repeat of the May 13 bloodshed.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang (pic) said the situation in Malaysia had worsened over the past two weeks since he wrote his first open letter prior to the first cabinet meeting of 2014.
“The most deplorable incident during this period was the threat of a ‘May 13′, as irresponsible individuals attempted to incite and ‘racialise’ an issue, which is unrelated to race or religion.
“Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban or Kadazan, are unhappy as a whole over the price hikes and rising high cost of living,” Lim said in a statement.
“They are angry with Putrajaya’s arrogance and indifference to their sufferings and burdens as they try to survive from day-to-day.”
Lim said that Penang Umno’s demonstration on Saturday and Sunday against Machang Bubuk state assemblyman Lee Khai Loon was clear evidence of inciting racial hatred and religious tensions in the country.
“Penang Umno and their cohorts distorted the ‘kangkung’ flash mob organised by Lee last week and twisted it into an attack on the Malay Prime Minister by the Chinese.
“This is a perversion of the truth. Even deputy PAS president Mohamad Sabu has said that he is Malay and does not feel insulated,” Lim said.
He described Penang Umno as being disgraceful and irresponsible in distorting the price hikes issue affecting all Malaysians by turning it into a racial issue of the Chinese disrespecting the Malays.
Last Wednesday, PKR politician Lee led a flash mob of 15 people and stuffed kangkung into the mouth of an effigy resembling Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
A furious and outraged Penang Umno retaliated by holding protests over the weekend. The 600-strong crowd on Saturday threatened a repeat of May 13 if the Chinese continued insulting the Malays.
On Sunday, a 300-strong crowd protested outside Lee’s service centre and burnt an effigy of him, spitting and stepping on it as they showed their anger at his perceived disrespect of Najib.
“When I suggested that Lee should consider apologising for the flash mob incident, it was out of respect for the Prime Minister’s office,” Lim said.
“I never for one moment suggested an apology to thugs making threats as we should never bow down to any form of violence.”
Lim said what the cabinet should be concerned about today as they prepare for their third meeting of 2014 is the systematic campaign to incite racial and religious hatred in the country.
“A group of irresponsible and reckless elements are trying to incite conflict and tension to create another May 13 situation to destabilise Malaysia.
“Is the cabinet prepared to take a firm stand and put a stop to the continued efforts by certain quarters to bring about another repeat of racial riots?” Lim said.
“Are Barisan Nasional leaders prepared to meet their Pakatan Rakyat counterparts by holding a Leaders’ Summit to ensure there is no repeat of May 13?”
Lim said there were also other issues plaguing Malaysia which had dented local and international confidence in the country.
“For example, Cabinet has yet to affirm the 10-point solution which was endorsed by Putrajaya in April 2011 to resolve the Bible and ‘Allah’ controversy,” Lim said in his second open letter.
Prior to the 2011 Sarawak elections, Putrajaya had endorsed a 10-point solution to allow Christians in Sabah and Sarawak to use “Allah” in the Malay version of the bible, which was negotiated by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.
Lim said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin both appeared to have broken ranks from the 10-point solution.
Furthermore, over the past 10 days, Najib has been widely lampooned and ridiculed following his ‘kangkung’ comments, which he used when attempting to explain market forces and demand and supply.
“The kangkung issue is not only widely known in Malaysia, but even the BBC highlighted the issue during a radio show last week in their World Service,” Lim said.
