Umno president Najib Abdul Razak attempt to liken his party's struggle with that of Nelson Mandela has drawn ridicule from the DAP.

In a press release today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Mandela's principles were the complete opposite of what Umno propagates.

He said that while Mandela had dedicated his life to fight against “white supremacy”, Umno is advocating "Malay supremacy".

"This is most shocking when Umno is all about perpetuating racial domination and discrimination to justify corruption, nepotism and incompetency," he said.

He said Mandela was jailed for 27 years for his struggle against the very values perpetuated by Umno, pointing out that the latter had once said: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

Lim said that if Najib was indeed sincere in his admiration for Mandela, he should likewise abandon racial domination and discrimination in Malaysia.

 

Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist who served as the country's first black president from 1994 to 1999. He passed away on Thursday at age 95.

During his closing speech at the Umno annual general assembly yesterday, Najib had likened Umno's struggle to that of the late Mandela.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Mahdzir Ibrahim, DAP political secretary to the education bureau director also rubbished Umno's claim that it was never racist but yet advocates Malay supremacy.

"The concept of Malay supremacy described a relationship between the master and slave. If Malays are the master, then who are the slaves?" he said.