A challenge to Lim Kit Siang: let’s debate why you kicked PAS out of Pakatan Rakyat
You acted mala fide when you dissolved Pakatan Rakyat in 2015. The excuse you gave was bogus. Not only did you act illegally, in that no consensus was reached to dissolve Pakatan Rakyat, but you lied and blamed Hadi for what Nik Aziz did. And you had the gall to praise Nik Aziz and condemn Hadi.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Kit Siang, I would like to debate the matter of what you did and what you said about PAS. Since circumstances do not allow us to debate face-to-face, I am prepared to engage you in a cyber-debate. I shall go first and you can reply after that. And after that I will reply to your replies and you can do the same thereafter.
Kit Siang, in June 2015, you announced that Pakatan Rakyat had been dissolved and no longer exists. It was a unilateral decision made by you and I assume by only some DAP leaders (since many others were not kept in the loop), without any prior discussion with and agreement of your coalition partners, PKR and PAS.
Yet, you and Anwar Ibrahim kept repeating time and time again that Pakatan Rakyat does things by consensus and if a consensus cannot be reached then you will agree to disagree. However, in the dissolution of Pakatan Rakyat, there was no consultation, consensus, or “agree to disagree” understanding. It was a unilateral action without any regards or consideration for the rights and wishes of your partners.
Clearly, as far as you are concerned, there is only one way, which is your way, and no other way. What is the English word for someone like that? Yes, you are right, that word is “dictator”. And yet you have the gall to call your party the Democratic Action Party. If your party is democratic then I am a virgin — and we both know I am not a virgin.
Barisan Rakyat was launched at Blog House in February 2008
I remember in February 2008, I personally announced the formation of Barisan Rakyat: Harapan Rakyat, a coalition consisting of six parties: PKR, PAS, DAP, Pasok, MDP and PSM. We even had the launching of the new coalition at “Blog House” in Bukit Damansara. And DAP was represented by Ronnie Liu.
When the press asked you about this coalition, you denied its existence. You said no coalition with PAS exists or can ever exist. Your leaders even said DAP can never sit at the same table with PAS, let alone sleep in the same bed.
Then, on 1st April 2008, you and DAP agreed to form Pakatan Rakyat, a coalition with PKR and PAS. That was three weeks after the March 2008 general election or GE12. Two months earlier you said no such coalition exists and there was no way in hell DAP would form a coalition with PAS.
Barisan Rakyat was launched two months before Pakatan Rakyat
Then, just three weeks later, after GE12 when you realised that DAP on its own cannot go anywhere without entering into a coalition with other parties, you did a U-turn and agreed to form a coalition with PKR and PAS. Suddenly not only can you now sit at the same table with PAS but you can even sleep in the same bed.
You have demonstrated inconsistency and hypocrisy your entire political life. Your word is not worth the paper it is written on, as they would say in the west. Your statements and actions are based on what serves your own personal interests. Even DAP’s interests take a back seat to your own.
Now, back to the matter of the dissolution of Pakatan Rakyat in June 2015. Your excuse for dissolving Pakatan Rakyat is so that DAP can divorce PAS. In 1990, DAP refused to form a coalition with Semangat 46 if PAS is part of the coalition. In 1999, when you saw that PAS and PKR had strong Malay support, you agreed to form Barisan Alternatif with PAS, PKR and PRM.
The RUU355 was the amendment to the Sharia Bill that Nik Aziz introduced in the Kelantan State Assembly in 2003
Then, in the November 1999 general election, you and Karpal Singh lost your seats because the Chinese were not happy with DAP’s association with PAS. So, in 2001, DAP left Barisan Alternatif and in the 2004 general election DAP contested as an independent party.
But in the 2004 general election the opposition got slaughtered and Barisan Nasional won 91% of the seats, the best ever in its history. After the 2008 general election, DAP had no choice but to form Pakatan Rakyat or else the party would become irrelevant and would die off. But you were never happy about DAP joining Pakatan Rakyat and you were just waiting for the right time and the right excuse to divorce PAS.
When the RUU355 Sharia Amendment Bill was tabled in parliament, you grabbed that opportunity to announce the dissolution of Pakatan Rakyat. The excuse you gave is that PAS under Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang is no longer the same PAS under Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat. Nik Aziz was liberal while Hadi is extremist.
Lim Kit Siang “created” Muafakat Nasional
But the RUU355 is the amendment to the 2003 Kelantan Sharia Bill under Nik Aziz. In short, RUU355 was what Nik Aziz did, not what Hadi did. You attack the RUU355 and blame Hadi for it. But the Kelantan Sharia Bill was passed in 2003 when Nik Aziz was the Menteri Besar of Kelantan. So why are you attacking Hadi for something that Nik Aziz did and then praise Nik Aziz and condemn Hadi?
You acted mala fide when you dissolved Pakatan Rakyat in 2015. The excuse you gave was bogus. Not only did you act illegally, in that no consensus was reached to dissolve Pakatan Rakyat, but you lied and blamed Hadi for what Nik Aziz did. And you had the gall to praise Nik Aziz and condemn Hadi.
I now hand the floor to you to reply to all the points I have raised and allegations I made.
