YOURSAY | ‘Harapan can’t continue to pander to ultra-Malay nationalists and/or Muslim bigots.’

Kit Siang: DAP will quit gov't if New M'sia objective abandoned

David Dass: Quitting is easy. No one should have expected the path to reform to be easy. The opposition is now only Malay and very extreme Malays at that.

Their strategy is - as it always was - to use race and religious issues to target the new government, especially the non-Malays in government.

What to non-Malays may seem as fair policies - treating everyone equally and fairly – they will be construed as undermining the Malays and Islam because they are accustomed to a system that had grown patently unfair. Hence the slow pace of reforms and hence the talks with prospective crossovers.

It will not get easier unless there is reform in Umno and Umno reverts to the days of Tunku Abdul Rahman and Hussein Onn.

MCA, Gerakan and the MIC should not sit in a comatose state. They should consider reforming their parties too. They should consider coming together to form a multiracial party and then invite Umno for talks.

Pakatan Harapan can encourage the discussions. Perhaps with offers to restore allowances if there is genuine reform.

In the meantime, the Harapan coalition should discuss matters internally and remind themselves as to how they got there and what pledges were made.

Let the Malays see and experience the new way. Show them that it will be a better way than the old way. The old way of holding the non-Malays back so that the Malays can catch up was always absurd and wrong.

What has happened to the recommendations of the Council of Eminent Persons? And what is happening with the Education Ministry? So far, Maszlee Malik has done nothing to give us confidence.

And what are the projects for the poor? Surfacing occasionally to make statements is not good enough. And such a statement suggests that all is not well in the coalition.

PW Cheng: DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, you had given much rope to Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He will plan for DAP exit once he had enough of the Umno frogs. His heart is still with Umno.

I had been following his footprints for the last 30 years and even wrote a poem of him in your blog about seven years ago.

The Wakandan: Yes, Kit Siang, that will be good for Malaysia in the long run. Racist and religious bigotry policy will only become the source and foundation of corruption because they transcend it.

That was why Umno-BN became corrupted until it became a way of life, a culture to be accepted as long as it is in the name of race and religion. Najib used that reason when he admitted receiving RM2.6 billion and his cohorts kept quiet because they understood him.

However, such a policy only serves as the bane of destruction of our nation. We must never go that way again, ever, for our sustenance, good and survival as a nation.

Harapan was built on those foundations to free Malaysia of legalised corruption, of which PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad was willing to admit his past mistakes (of making Malays into millionaires and billionaires without working for them).

Every level-headed Malaysian must be pragmatic and support what is truly good for the country. DAP must not give up. Instead, it is those who are reneging on the foundation of Harapan policy that should be rejected from the coalition.

Gaji Buta: Indeed, it’s a big mistake to let Bersatu into Harapan.

Without them, Harapan may have lost the election and slowly the country will go bust from corruption, but maybe that is what will be required for the majority to realise that a new way is needed, that is, if they are concerned about the future, and not their status.

Kevin: DAP, if you leave, there's nothing left for the rakyat. Corruption, scandals, nepotism will make a quick comeback.

For all we know, former PM Najib Abdul Razak and his gang will crawl back into "active duty" one fine day... and there will not be anything left for mere mortal souls - the rakyat.

Stay on and keep that rocket firing. You don't have to compare to MCA - they are ball-less. You have the guts to say no. They don't. That's the difference.

Oh, and you need to eradicate worms in your party too before DAP becomes like "them". PKR is long gone; Amanah is silent, Bersatu has become like Umno. So, who is left in the coalition? DAP.

Rupert16: The country can’t move forward if Harapan continues to pander to ultra-Malay nationalists and/or Muslim bigots.

It’s about time the government used a sword to cut this Gordian knot that is tying up the country.

Oriole: It is safe to say that many Malaysians of integrity are watching the situation unfolding before our eyes.

Many will finally give up on this nation if the same sham and the same crooks are going to take power in Malaysia. The ultras will then be welcome to run this place according to the rules and laws in which only crooks and opportunists will survive.

Drngsc: Thanks, Kit Siang. It is about time to speak up. Some in the Harapan coalition are pushing their own racist agenda, to the neglect of other Malaysians.

We are not against any race. We are for a new and better Malaysia. GE14 will never have been without strong non-Malay support for Harapan. Let us not forget that.

The best is to return to need-based policies and not race-based policies.

Anonymous_e3e72c1b: Nice words, indeed, from Kit Siang. But actions count more.

If you really mean what you say, then your party should be much more vocal when it comes to what Bersatu is doing. That party is clearly derailing what Harapan is supposed to stand for - a break from the toxic politics of BN.

Quigonbond: Kit Siang, do you see Anwar Ibrahim ascension to PMship being scuttled by goings-on in Bersatu vis-à-vis Umno? How do you see the leadership of the country post-Anwar?

What's the shortfall in our reform agenda now? Do you believe everything is on track, or is going too slowly?

You are a political giant. Maybe it's time for you as a relatively neutral statesman to speak up and give some assurance to Malaysians amidst the increasing chaos.

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