By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 9, 2013
Tun Dr Mahathir should quit his racial-baiting and act like a responsible elder statesman befitting his role as former prime minister in the run-up to Election 2013, political rival Lim Kit Siang advised today.
The DAP’s Lim has been bearing the brunt of Dr Mahathir’s attacks ever since announcing his plan to take the electoral battle right to the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) fortress in Johor, which is the birthplace of its anchor party Umno and the last standing home of Chinese partner, MCA.
“Mahathir should be a responsible ‘elder statesman’ and stop race-baiting and inciting communal sentiments which is completely antithetical to his concept of Bangsa Malaysia in Vision 2020,” Lim said in a statement, referring to his former political foe’s twin legacies for the birth of a united, multicultural people when the country has achieved developed-nation status.
The opposition leader who had been once been Dr Mahathir’s top parliamentary adversary in the 1990s said the 87-year-old was within his rights to go all out in campaigning for the ruling BN.
But Lim told Dr Mahathir to drop his “wild, baseless, irresponsible and racist allegation” that his move to the Gelang Patah federal seat in Johor was to “create racial disharmony among Malays and Chinese” and to capitalise on the potential conflict between the two races to win the election.
“It is most unworthy of the fourth Prime Minister of 22 years to make such a wild, baseless, irresponsible and racist allegation,” the Ipoh-Timor MP said.
“I had said publicly in the DAP ceramahs in Gelang Patah that I want to win in Gelang Patah, not just on Chinese votes but also on Malay and Indian votes as well,” he added.
The 72-year-old Lim reminded that he had urged constituents in Gelang Patah to vote “as Malaysians” to realise the dream first voiced by Umno’s founder and first president Datuk Onn Jaafar prior to the country’s Independence from colonial British rule 61 years ago.
“Although Onn was too ahead of his time, the Malaysian Dream remains alive in the hearts and minds of Malaysians down the decades,” he said.
Dr Mahathir has become the BN’s de facto campaigner-in-chief in the weeks leading up to the 13th general elections, going on the stump with the vigour of a much younger man as the ruling coalition faces what is seen as its stiffest challenge ever from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat pact.
dr teo better stands in sibuti again than give sibuti to pas
ask pas to go to kuala rajang and igan
and dr teo stands again in senadin in next election
no need to be mp 2013…can be mp in future if lost in sibuti…new seat delimitation/new boundary later maybe new gov can put airport/tmn tungku area to sibuti…more chinese
no alice lau in lanang…no need some1 with political family ties with bn as dap candidates…believe dap can find some1 among >100k chinese in sibu to stand in lanang than alice lau. no need her money
no need lim su kien in miri. put some1 neutral. why cant lim su kien scarified herself by not to stand as candidate? believe dap can find some1 among >200k chinese & dayaks in miri
Teresa,
You might have forgotten that this grand son of the pariah from Kerala, the shenanigan Mahathir, is just trying to protect himself. All his actions now are just to ensure that the opposition will not get elected so that he himself, his family members and all his cronies will not be indicted.
Most important of all the ill gotten gains, the US$44- billions he had hidden abroad, will not be seized back and that he will not have to spend his twilight years rotting and decaying away. That is all he is doing, self-
perseveration, you should know that !
Besides that isn’t a bad thing, look at the recent past. In the first election of AB when all voters thought the shenanigan had ‘retired’, AB was elected by well over 94% of the country’s voters, a sign to rejoice themselves. But as soon as he revealed to Malaysia he has not ‘retired’ AB lost badly in his following GE when the voters realised they have been conned. Also all the by elections thereafter, every time when he was campaigned for all the candidates he supported. They all lost whereas the few who won never got his open support, weren’t that enough to show you how much his ‘support’ he was getting ! Therefore pray hard together with all of us, that he will be very pro active and supportive of the Umno’s and Perkasa’s candidates in the coming GE. Just wait and enjoy the results all the Malaysian voters have been waiting for ! But promise us the one thing the opposition must do is have him and his cronies indicted for the abuses he committed during his tenure as P.M. and most of all make sure to seize back the ill gotten,US$44- billions to be precise !
sometimes it is very hard to accept the truth.
How to act properly?
His butt is on the line!!!
It is pointless to talk about him.Leave him alone; and he will lose the publicity which he craves!Finally, peopel will forget that he exists! By talking to him or about him , Mr. Lim , you are only giving him space!Of course, you have to rebut him when he talks rubbish.Mahatma Gandhi once said about people who talk but dare not act: ” Mere brave speech without ACTION is letting off useless steam.” You are brave enough to go to Gelang Patah, literally entering the lion’s den! But the old fox, when challenged, is afraid to face you! MCA President Dr. Chua Choi Lek is also afraid to take up your challenge! Leaders must lead front the front!
Best regards.
S.H. Huang
William Shakespeare in one of his plays says:
” Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste death but once. ”
Cowards lead their troops from behind and not from the front!Leaders lead their troops from the front; and are prepared to die with them!Cowards will tell their soldiers to go in front and die first!