Kit Siang: Najib's 1Malaysia a 'work in regress'

Lim Kit Siang has said that 1Malaysia is not a “work in progress” but a “work in regress” considering the rising tide of racial extremism that has blighted Prime Minister Najib’s 18 months in office.

The DAP Ipoh Timor MP was responding in a statement today to the premier’s defence of his 1Malaysia yesterday against accusations that it had failed.

Lim said that as long as Najib ( right in photo ) “proves to be the new 'Mr Flip-Flop' prime minister overshadowing his predecessor Abdullah (Badawi)”, his grand design for a united Malaysia will be “an empty slogan”.

The veteran DAP politician faulted Najib’s U-turn on Umno’s recent decision to distance itself from Perkasa as one of the factors for 1Malaysia’s failure.

“In back-pedalling ... Najib has ... sent out the negative message that he is not prepared to be the leader for all groups and component parties in Barisan Nasional, let alone be the prime minister for all Malaysians,” said Lim.

He said that while no one was expecting “a full realisation” of the 1Malaysia concept, he pointed out that Najib’s excuse that it was a “work in progress” was “disingenuous and even dishonest”.

Especially, Lim noted, when the PM himself had admitted in his Malaysia Day message that extremism was on the rise.

“The rising tide of extremism in his 18 months of premiership, with unprecedented outpouring of the rhetoric of race and religion (is) unseen in the first 18 months of all the prime ministers of Malaysia,” said Lim.

The DAP veteran remarked that it was “even more unhealthy” that the said extremism seemed to “emanate primarily from the ranks of Umno and allied or outsourced groups.”

‘Zero action not zero tolerance’

To prove his point, Lim cited how Najib’s public call for “zero tolerance” towards racism pledging immediate action against offenders, was “followed by two weeks of inaction” over the two publicised incidences of racist school principals.

“This is not the stuff to inspire confidence in his political will and commitment to achieve the goal of 1Malaysia,” said Lim, noting that it also contradicted the lofty mission the PM has set out in his 1Government Transformation Programme Roadmap.

In that document, Najib had set a goal for “a nation where, it is hoped, every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second”, according to Lim ( right ).

Questioning the PM’s “patriotic litmus test” for public officers in line with his mission, the Ipoh Timor MP asked how many cabinet members or BN leaders would pass the test if it were based on their deeds and words over the past 18 months.

He challenged Najib to instead simply ask his deputy and his ministers at next Wednesday’s cabinet meeting “whether they are prepared to be Malaysians first and race second, as a first step to show their support and loyalty to his 1Malaysia concept”.

Those who failed, said Lim, should be shown the exit otherwise his 1Malaysia is nothing but “an empty and meaningless slogan.”

‘ Utusan garbage’ condoned

“ Utusan Malaysia , the Umno mouthpiece, will not only fail these (1Malaysia litmus) tests but will be among the most egregious offenders, breaching these tests on a daily basis,” he quipped.

                    

Lim noted that Utusan had in fact “reached a new low” over its attempts to politicise and racialise the gruesome murder of Sosilawati Lawiya and her associates.

He blasted the Umno-linked Malay daily for publishing “ double lies against DAP” when it speculated, amongst others, whether the perpetrators of the murders were DAP members.

According to him, he and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who were both in Shanghai when the news broke on Sept 12, had responded almost instantly to the incident.

While Guan Eng ( below ) had sent an immediate tweet to express his “shock”, Kit Siang held a press conference on Sept 15 upon his return to condemn the murders and express his condolences.

“Yet Utusan Malaysia could publish such garbage the next day on Sept 16 to insinuate that the DAP is siding with the mass murderers, and had been silent on the mass murders either because the ‘ datuk ’ killer is a DAP member or DAP ‘fights for the rights of a certain race only’,” he said.

“I have a video recording of my press conference in Kota Kinabalu on Sept. 15 ... but I do not think the Utusan Malaysia editors would dare to ask to view them,” he said.

On Sept 16, Utusan Malaysia Online ran a politically-loaded report titled " Berniat jahat, gangguan siasatan polis " (Malicious intent, obstruction of police investigations) questioning the DAP’s silence on the gruesome murder.   

The DAP lodged a police report against Malay language daily on Sept 17 over the article, while Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua blasted Najib’s failure to act against the errant publication that the PM had last year  praised for its " ethical and unbiased" reporting .

"(It) will not only mean blanket approval for Utusan to continue with its irresponsible, reckless actions ... but it will also mean the height of irresponsibility by jettisoning his own '1Malaysia' goal,” said Pua.