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Set Malaysia free - let this be the objective of all in GE14

COMMENT | This is my 12th participation in a general election, but for the first time in five decades, I will not be using the 'rocket' symbol.

Instead, I will be using the Pakatan Harapan common logo of the PKR’s blue-eyes.

This is not an easy decision for DAP leaders to make, as for more than half a century, DAP leaders and members have fought and suffered in the name of the rocket, endured the ups and downs, the trials and tribulations of staying true to the DAP objectives and principles for Malaysian unity, harmony, integrity, justice, freedom and the rule of law.

I was detained twice under the Internal Security Act (ISA), prosecuted in court and underwent various harassments as a DAP lawmaker; the DAP secretary-general and caretaker Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng was detained under the ISA, disqualified as MP for Kota Melaka and went to Kajang prison for a year for defending the honour and dignity of an underaged Malay girl, and was disenfranchised and unable to cast his vote or stand for elective office for five years; many DAP leaders were jailed, prosecuted in court and their livelihood harassed in the past five decades because DAP leaders had remained true and loyal to DAP objectives and principles.

All this we did under the rocket symbol. So it was a most painful and heart-wrenching decision for DAP leaders to not to use the symbol.

But extraordinary times call all for extraordinary responses – and the 14th general election is indeed an extraordinary occasion.

The DAP decision not to use the rocket logo but to use a Harapan common logo of PKR is to send a message to all Malaysians to make sacrifices in the GE14 to rise above race, religion and even political party affiliation to unite as one Malaysian people to vote Harapan for change of government in Putrajaya to save Malaysia and re-set nation-building policies and direction to fulfill the "Malaysian Dream" in the hearts and minds of every Malaysian.

It is a message to the 3.6 million Umno members, one million MCA members and one million PAS members that under these extraordinary times, when Malaysia is the laughing stock of the world as a kleptocratic state and rogue democracy, it is our patriotic duty to unite as one Malaysian people transcending race, religion, region and political party affiliation to save Malaysia from a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state by voting for the "Blue Eye"s logo on May 9.

There are three reasons why the GE14 is unprecedented and historic.

Firstly, is the transformation of Johor from an Umno/BN fixed deposit state into the front-line state for political change and national renewal in GE14.

Until the 2008 general election, Johor was the impregnable and invincible state of Umno/BN, so much so that Umno/BN leaders boasted about making Johor a zero-opposition state in GE12.

However, the political landscape in Johor underwent a drastic and fundamental change in GE12 and GE13, and Johor politics will never be the same again as compared to the first five decades after Merdeka in 1957.

Great leap in 2013

In the GE13 in 2013, the opposition achieved the "great leap" forward in Johor trebling its representation in the Johor state assembly from six to 18 seats, and with the formation of Bersatu which had one state assemblyperson in the state assembly, the Umno/BN lost its two-thirds majority for the first time since Merdeka.

In fact, if there was a fair and democratic “one man, one vote” delineation of constituencies in GE13, the opposition would have won another eight seats, ie 26 out of a total of 56 state assembly seat in Johor, as the opposition secured 46 percent of the total votes cast for the state seats.

Now Johor is one of the state governments that Harapan hopes to win in GE14, paving the way to the capture of federal power in Putrajaya.

Secondly, this is not just a general election to elect the MP and State Assembly representative for the area.

Although general elections in Malaysia are held at least once in five years, the 2018 election is different from all the previous thirteen polls as it will also decide who is going to be the prime minister of Malaysia – Najib Abdul Razak or Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The GE14 is virtually a direct prime ministerial election, which will not come the way of Malaysian voters for a long time.

If on May 9 two years ago the Filipinos can change their president, and on the same day last year, South Korean can also change their president, the question on May 9 this year is whether Malaysians can change the prime minister.

Thirdly, most important of all, GE14 presents a golden opportunity for the first time in the 61-year history of the nation for the country to apply the brakes and change course – to stop hurtling along the trajectory towards a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state and to begin to fulfill the dream of Malaysia as a world top-class nation.

Let me summarise the objectives of the GE14 in these words: “Set Malaysia Free” – from corruption, abuses of power, injustices and all forms of exploitation.


LIM KIT SIANG is DAP parliamentary leader and incumbent Gelang Patah MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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