The handling of the MH370 crisis and the recent outburst of racial extremism have both underscored Malaysia’s weaknesses and poor governance, said DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

Lim said apart from the absence of any clue in the missing plane after 64 days, the absence of any clear leadership, what he quipped as the “missing Prime Minister tragedy” was a serious sign of a country in trouble.

"Both these two 'missing' disasters have seriously highlighted the grave weaknesses and faultlines of the Malaysian nation and governance," said the Gelang Patah MP in a statement today.

 

The handling of the MH370 incident has put Malaysia’s accountability and transparency issues under intense scrutiny , he said.

Likewise, the “missing Prime Minister tragedy” amid extremist rhetoric from groups like Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Perkasa shows Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s 1Malaysia and Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) to be hollow.

 

“The greatest threat from the extremist racist and religious fulminations from Perkasa and Isma is not their advocacy by the extremist Perkasa and Isma leaders, but the silence of those in authority, especially the prime minister himself…

 

“(This) is interpreted not only as given ‘immunity and impunity’ to these extremist views, but even worse, as either agreement or condoning of such views,” he said.

 

Of late, Isma had been calling Chinese Malaysians “ intruders ” in the country and their involvement in politics should be limited - but must nonetheless pay taxes , amongst other incendiary speeches such as making hudud applicable to non-Muslim s.

 

Meanwhile, Perkasa had called for Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Joseph Kurup to be sacked over his statement that the hudud debate is disrupting inter-racial harmony in Malaysia, and threatened to sue the government when another minister in the department Joseph Entulu Belaun erroneously announced the 'race' column would be dropped from government forms where it is not needed.

Joseph Entulu has since apologised for his error and clarified that the matter was discussed in cabinet, but no decision was made.

 

“For how long is the ‘disappearance of the prime minister’ be played out before Najib is prepared to come forward to declare not only his dissociation but  opposition to extremist views, whether on race on religion,  which makes total nonsense of his 1Malaysia policy as well as Movement of Global Moderates?

 

“Or have  the racial and religious extremists in Perkasa and Isma overawed,  overwhelmed and overpowered Najib and the Umno/BN government?” Lim asked.

 

He urged voters in Bukit Gelugor and Teluk Intan, where a by-election is due to take place, to take a stand for moderation and against extremism.

 

“Let the Bukit Gelugor and Teluk Intan parliamentary by-elections, to be held respectively on May 25 and May 31, be the first two test cases of a Malaysian people’s awakening for a national movement against racial and religious extremists in the country,” said the DAP leader.