Lim Kit Siang has congratulated Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on building a new political legacy based on “democracy, justice and unity”, on the Prime Minister’s 93rd birthday which falls today.
The DAP veteran said that Dr Mahathir has turned Malaysia into a top-class nation in the international stage, adding that the country was now a “beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world”.
The Iskandar Puteri MP said this during a speech at the Kelantan DAP Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house in Kota Baru on Monday (July 9).
He said that political leaders in the country have much to learn after the 14th General Election (GE14), an election where Malaysians chose a “clean, just, free, democratic, and united Malaysia”.
“In the process, all political leaders and even Malaysians have a lot to learn from both the successes and mistakes of nation-building in the past six decades, whether Mahathir, (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim or even myself as we have to be more sensitive and sensible with regard to the legitimate aspirations of all Malaysians,” he added.
He added that many, who had voted for Barisan Nasional during GE14, would have voted for Pakatan Harapan had the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal and other scandals connected to the previous government been more widely known.
“I do not believe that the 35-40% of Malays who voted for Barisan and the 30-33% who supported PAS in GE14 wanted to vote for kleptocracy, abuses and excesses of power as well as the various forms of injustices and oppression under (then prime minister) Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s premiership.
“If the general election is now held after the truth about the 1MDB scandal and other mini 1MDB-like corruption in Mara, Felda and other public bodies have become widely known, the majority of Malay voters would have supported Pakatan to fight kleptocracy and to ensure that Malaysia stands for clean and honest government and not a corrupt and decadent government.”
He said Umno-Barisan would not have secured 35-40% or PAS winning 30-33% of the Malay votes, citing Merdeka Centre’s estimation that 35-40% of Malays voted Barisan, another 30-33% supported PAS, and the remaining 25-30% voted Pakatan Harapan during GE14.
“Today (Monday) is the 60th day of the new Pakatan Harapan Government in Putrajaya.
“There is no honeymoon for the Pakatan Ministers and Deputy Ministers for they must work from the very beginning to fulfil the promises of a New Malaysia, as Pakatan Harapan does not intend to be a one-term Government in Putrajaya, but to be able to continue the work to build a New Malaysia in the 15th and 16th General Elections,” he added. – The Star