Khairy slams Kit Siang as ‘borderline racist’

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin defended the aborted unity talks between Umno and PAS today, and called criticisms by the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang “borderline racist.”

“Lim Kit Siang recently charged that the proposed dialogue between Umno and PAS is against the concept of 1 Malaysia, shockingly implying that Malay-Muslim unity was not good for the country.

“Never mind that such sentiments are as absurd as they are borderline racist, Kit Siang, true to form, is ignoring facts that don’t fit his prejudiced and jaundiced views,” Khairy said in an entry on his blog today.

Earlier this week, Lim challenged what he felt was the absurdity of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s call for Malay and Muslim unity, and mocked the prime minister by asking if Umno would give the nod to Chinese unity talks or similar discourse for other communities as well.

On Monday, Pakatan Rakyat leaders rejected Umno’s unity government proposal and proclaimed all issues surrounding the fiasco, which brought the fledgling opposition coalition to the brink of collapse, resolved.

But the Umno president, in asking PAS not to reject a proposal which he said would be beneficial to Malay Muslims, had appeared to play the religion and race card. Khairy said today that any dialogue with PAS would not necessarily be confined to Malay-Muslim issues.

“Instead, any proposed talks should involve issues of national interest with the hope that the discussions will bring out the best in and most progressive elements of both parties.

“Kit Siang’s persistence in arguing that the muzakarah and 1 Malaysia are not reconcilable suggests that he believes any UMNO-PAS collaboration will necessarily be racist and threatening to non-Malays/Muslims. “

Khairy said he found Lim’s position bemusing “as his supposedly multi-racial party remains extremely dominated by one race.”

Despite the Umno Youth chief’s defence of the unity talks, the idea has caused some concern among his party’s Barisan Nasional (BN) partners.

But the talks have caused the most damage so far to PAS, with rival factions split on whether to have closer ties with Umno.

This has also caused a rift with its PR partners even though the alliance’s national leaders pledged to work together this week and put the controversy behind them.