If Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak touts himself to be the PM for all races, he should stop playing the racial and religious card in Pakatan Rakyat-led states, said DAP leader and Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang.

lim kit siang 201108 This includes the current efforts to erode support for Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng by stoking racial and religious sentiments against the latter’s administration, said Kit Siang.

Referring to the attacks that have been levelled against Guan Eng - both by former and current Pakatan colleagues as well as outside the coalition - Kit Siang said they lead only to one conclusion: that either Najib is not committed to his 1Malaysia or he has failed to rein in those quarters within the BN camp seeking to sabotage his efforts to unite the country.  

“Is Najib unaware that not only the Chinese in Penang and Malaysia, but all other Malaysians whether Malays, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans in the country are following with disgust the irresponsible politics of race and religion being daily perpetrated by Umno-controlled media against the Pakatan Rakyat Penang State government and Penang chief minister?

“Everyone can only reach one conclusion - that Najib is not serious and fully committed to the 1Malaysia slogan and concept. Or else he would not have allowed the Umno media to continue on such a rampage in exploiting the race and religious cards in Penang!” said the veteran DAP leader.

Other than Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and the other government-controlled media that he alleged were working against Najib’s 1Malaysia concept, Kit Siang said there were quarters within Umno and BN itself that were undoing Najib’s efforts at nation-building efforts.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the biggest enemies of Najib’s 1Malaysia concept come from within Umno and Barisan Nasional and not without... as illustrated by the  divisive and destructive politics of race and religion now perpetrated by Umno media against the Penang chief minister,” said Lim.

bn pandanmaran cny open house 2 Umno’s BN partners were also complicit in the plot, said Kit Siang, as indicated in their failure to stop the “irresponsible politics of race and religion presently perpetrated by the Umno media against the Penang.chief minister.”

“If Najib cannot even ask the Umno media like the Utusan Malaysia , Berita Harian and the government television and radio channels to give him a chance to prove that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians...  what  positive answer can Najib get from his request at the national Chinese New Year celebrations in Pandamaran yesterday  asking the Chinese community to give his government a chance to prove itself?”