Unfazed by possible disciplinary action by DAP, Liu stands by his criticism against Mahathir.
Sungai Pelek assemblyman Ronnie Liu has once again hit out at Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and said if action were to be taken against him, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali should go down as well.
Liu, who is also a DAP central executive committee member, claimed not only is the Malaysian public unhappy with Mahathir for failing to fulfil the 2018 General Election manifesto but also that the premier had “irked the government of a number of countries”.
“We cannot allow Pakatan Harapan, not even the Prime Minister, to drag us on the same path taken by the former regime, Barisan Nasional. At this point, the public is unhappy with Dr Mahathir when a list of promises was not fulfilled – Lynas, Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), abolition of tolls, PTPTN loan, oil royalty for Sabah and Sarawak, and the Indian equation in new Malaysia, just to name a few.
“The Prime Minister cannot act unilaterally on his own, especially on a number of issues that affect the people’s confidence towards Pakatan Harapan.
Liu said he was ready to be referred to DAP’s disciplinary committee for saying that PH could form the government without PPBM.
However, he questioned the lack of action against Azmin whom he said had openly defied the PH agreement for the prime minister’s post to be handed over to Anwar Ibrahim.
“Meanwhile, if the call to take action against me is justified, why was no action taken against Azmin Ali who openly defied Pakatan Harapan’s agreement on the handover of the Prime Minister’s office?” wrote Liu in a Malaysiakini column on Oct 24.
Liu further stated that while he is prepared to face the party disciplinary committee, his conscience is clear as he was doing his duty to the people.
“I will be prepared to face the party disciplinary committee as I believe with all my conscience that I was not in the wrong.
“As a Pakatan Harapan loyalist, it is my duty and obligation as an elected representative of the people to speak up on behalf of the people.
“It is by doing so that I am able to stay true to the democratic values that we in DAP have held on to.
“Whether it is before the party disciplinary committee or otherwise, I will continue to defend it – the right to freedom of speech.
“All of my opinion pieces were written in good faith, and they do not represent the party’s position.
“There is, therefore, no intention to create disharmony within the coalition and certainly not within the party that I have served for many years.”
Liu claimed the prime minister was pushing for a dominant Malay-based party to control the coalition, citing the acceptance of former Umno politicians into PPBM.
He also hit out at Mahathir over the continuation of laws which he called repressive, the decision not to deport controversial preacher Zakir Naik back to India, and the failure to specify a date to hand over power to Anwar.
He said most of the remarks he raised in the opinion piece titled Mahathir: The Paper Tiger which was published on a news portal two days ago were based on what the public has been saying in social media.
“A lot of the things that I have raised are also based on what the public is expressing openly through social media.
Liu also claimed that Mahathir had perceived himself as “all-powerful” and sowed “discord” among PH components.
“But whatever the outcome, I will stay true to my conscience as an elected representative whose boss is ultimately the people,” he said in a statement.
Liu has received much flak for chastising Mahathir openly, but he said he will not retract his criticism against Mahathir and Bersatu as he felt he had done nothing wrong and was only exercising his right to freedom of speech.
“If Dr Mahathir can accept criticisms and he had also criticised (other people) even in the matters of other countries, why should others be bothered by what I said?” Liu said.
“Even Dr Mahathir has no qualms and never said I was rude, so why are others bothered?”