Lim tests Muhyiddin, asks if PN chief will lead 'Malaysian first' campaign

Summary

• Lim Kit Siang questions when Muhyiddin Yassin decided he was no longer “Malay first”.

• The DAP veteran asks whether the Perikatan Nasional chairperson will lead a Malaysian-first campaign.

Fifteen years after prompting Muhyiddin Yassin into saying he is “Malay first”, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang now has a follow-up question to the Perikatan Nasional chairperson’s sincerity in representing all Malaysians.

This is after Muhyiddin said that his “Malay first” stance was now in the past, and that he and his coalition would care for all Malaysians.

“The first question: When was he converted from ‘Malay first, Malaysian second’ to ‘Malaysian first, Malay second’?” Lim asked in a brief statement this morning.

“Second question: Is he prepared to lead a campaign to urge all Malaysians to see themselves as nationality first, ethnicity second?” he added.

In 2010, Lim challenged Muhyiddin to state whether he identified as Malay or Malaysian first.

In reply, the then-deputy prime minister said he was Malay first, but this did not mean he was not a Malaysian.

The comment has dogged Muhyiddin through the years among non-Malays, often being used as fodder to paint the former prime minister as an ethno-nationalist.

While Muhyiddin and PN’s largely Malay-based politics have led to considerable success among the Malay electorate, it has proven to be a hindrance in getting non-Malay support, a vital component in its aspirations to form the federal government.

In an effort to convince non-Malays, Muhyiddin said at an event PN organised for the Indian community yesterday, that his Malay first sentiments were all in the past.

“I used to say I was Malay first. That is no longer important. I am a Malay who cares for all Malaysians,” he said.

Thus far, efforts by PN to win over non-Malay support have had limited success, often marred by the coalition’s hardline responses to interethnic issues.

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