Leaders of opposition party DAP today said that it will not submit to racial threats from Umno which it said were aimed at frightening Malaysians and to distract them in the struggle to establish democracy for all.

"DAP will continue to pursue the Malaysian Malaysia agenda and not be distracted by racist Umno politicians so bankrupt of ideas that they still resort to exploiting the May 13 riots to frighten Malaysians.

"(The party) will not submit to threats in our struggle to fight for democracy, equal opportunities and justice for all Malaysians," said DAP's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in a statement today.

Lim was referring to Umno's new permanent deputy chairperson - Badruddin Amiruldin ( photo ) - who when addressing the party's annual general assembly on Friday warned that any attempts to question Malay rights was 'akin to stirring a hornet's nest'.

He added that it was "sad to see Umno leaders waving a book on the 1969 May 13 racial riots to threaten and warn the non-Malay community" at a time when Malaysians should be united to face the challenges of globalisation.

"It is Umno racists like Badruddin who refuse to accept non-Malays as Malaysian citizens but yet seek their votes during general elections," he said.

Reason, not emotion

Using recent television debates as an example, Lim said disagreements between ruling and opposition parties could be argued rationally using reason and not emotion to avoid creating a 'chauvinist violence' crisis, Lim added.

Meanwhile, the party's youth wing, Dapsy in a statement said the purpose of the recent television debates was being defeated if Umno leaders such as Dr Pirdaus Ismail - an Umno Youth exco member - insisted of making references to ' chauvinist Chinese within and outside the DAP'.

"Who is he referring to? Is it the Suqui movement whose election appeals were endorsed by Umno prior to the 1999 general elections but later (were) branded as communists by former Umno leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad?" asked Loke Siew Fook, Dapsy's national secretary.

"Pirdaus' remarks are most divisive and he sees all those who disagrees with him as enemies. This does not augur well for the national unity spirit and defeats the whole purpose of RTM1's programme to create unity in diversity," added Loke.

BN partners rapped

DAP, a predominantly Chinese multi-cultural party, has also demanded that non-Malay based parties in the Barisan Nasional to disavow their parties from 'extremist threats' made by Umno, the coalition's leader.

"Should MCA, Gerakan and MIC fail to do so, they are not just failing in their duty to their own communities but are also dishonouring BN's spirit of consensus and consultation in all decision-making," said Lim.

Meanwhile, the party's Youth wing Dapsy said that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also Umno president, must take action against his party subordinates.

"Dapsy strongly calls on him to direct Pirdaus and Badruddin to retract their statements while stamping his authority within the party to show the world that he has the political will to 'walk his talk' for a united and progressive Malaysia," said Loke.

This was echoed by Seputeh MP and DAP's publicity secretary, Teresa Kok, who urged the premier "to eliminate communalisms from Umno and bring Malaysia towards a new era of liberal and democratic politics which (he) himself has been espousing since assuming the role of prime minister."

"If he allows these kinds of inflammatory statements to be made at Umno assemblies, it will undermine his credibility as the leader of all Malaysians," she said.