Dr M is ‘single, greatest threat’ to Malaysia’s nation-building, says Kit Siang

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is Malaysia’s single, greatest “enemy” bent on destroying the Bangsa Malaysia and Vision 2020 nation-building pillars he created during his 22 years in office, his DAP arch-foe Lim Kit Siang said today.

The DAP advisor has been on the receiving end of the former prime minister’s acid tongue ever since announcing his candidacy for the Gelang Patah seat, and returned fire in a tit-for-tat attack that has been raging for weeks in the run-up to Election 2013.

“Dr M (picture) in his post-PM decade has emerged as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building,” Lim said in a statement, referring to his political nemesis by his popular handle.

He pointed to Dr Mahathir’s public praise last weekend of Malay right-winger, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, and endorsement of the Perkasa president as an “ideal” electoral candidate as one of two examples of the ex-PM’s “baleful and baneful influence” to Malaysian nation building.

The second example he ticked was Dr Mahathir’s “racist” entry on the latter’s chedet.cc blog yesterday, in which the 87-year-old had warned of a “race confrontation” should Lim win Gelang Patah in the May 5 polls.

“Mahathir is just continuing the demonisation campaign by Umno down through the decades painting the DAP as anti-Malay and anti-Islam when these are totally untrue, false and downright lies,” he said.

He said the DAP has championed the rights and interests of all Malaysians regardless of their race and religion since its founding in 1966.

As example, he listed his son and DAP secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng, whom the elder Lim said was jailed for 18 months for sticking up for the human rights and dignity of an underaged Malay girl, and asked which Umno leader had “sacrificed” his political career in a similar way.

The outgoing Ipoh Timor MP also said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak feared taking action against his former mentor as “Mahathir has proven that he could make and unmake Umno prime ministers”.

“[The] last thing Najib wants is to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Tun Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) of being toppled as Prime Minister after failing to secure an acceptable winning majority in Parliament in the 13GE,” Lim said.

He demanded Dr Mahathir show proof to support his allegations, failing which the Umno veteran must apologise and recant his “lies and falsehoods against me in his blog”.