Kit Siang slams Salleh for praising PM’s ‘Umno v DAP’ tactic

Salleh Said Keruak says like Umno, DAP will determine who becomes PM, DPM as they have most number of seats in Parliament, if Pakatan wins GE14

(FMT) – Lim Kit Siang condemned an Umno minister for saying that the attempt to portray the next general election (GE14) as a battle between the Malays and the Chinese, in particular DAP, was a smart tactical move.

Calling it an attempt to falsely frame the battle in GE14, the DAP parliamentary leader said such actions by Umno goes against the values that the ruling party claims to espouse.

“Such attempts to falsely frame the battle in GE14 is the very antithesis of the wasatiyyah values of moderation, justice and balance, because they are downright false, untrue and lies.

“GE14 is not a battle between Malays and Chinese, nor is it a battle between Islam and the enemies of Islam,” Lim said in a statement released today.

Lim, who is Gelang Patah MP, was referring to a blog post by Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak yesterday, supporting the use of such tactics.

Salleh said there was nothing wrong with saying that as it was based on the facts of the power held by the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional and the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan in Parliament.

“DAP has the most number of seats in parliament among the opposition parties, just like how Umno has the most number of seats as well.

“Therefore, like Umno, even if DAP cannot take the post of prime minister and deputy prime minister, they will determine who takes the two key posts in any government led by Pakatan Harapan, if they win the next general election,” Salleh said.

He added that is the simple basis, following normal political convention in Malaysia, for Prime Minister Najib Razak to state last December that GE14 was a choice between an “UMNO-led government” and a “DAP-led government”.

Salleh also praised Najib, saying that the “Umno president was far better than Lim Kit Siang in playing the political chess game currently”.

Lim, in response, said Salleh’s comments were just part of the ruling party’s “Great Design” in preparing for the challenges they face in GE14, but that it could not keep the bigger issues off the minds of voters.

“Unfortunately, the 1MDB scandal is so gargantuan and global that there is no way to keep its ‘ghosts’ under wraps, although the mainstream media in Malaysia and the public institutions, whether Parliament, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or the Police, all conspire in the the great pretense that the 1MDB scandal does not exist.

“Najib and Umno/BN, cannot control international events, and the 1MDB scandal continues to haunt and hound Najib and Malaysians almost every other day