Media statement by Lim Kit Siang on Monday, 20^th February 2012: 

BN political chicanery, mendacity and bankruptcy of first order with Chua Soi Lek warning Chinese voters “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS” while Najib warning Malay voters “A vote for PAS is a vote for DAP”

This is a disgraceful episode Malaysians must never forget, especially in the forthcoming 13th General Elections which holds out the possibility for the first time in the 54-year history of our nation of effecting a change of government at the national level.

The message of the MCA President Datuk Seri Chua Soil Lek in his debate with DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on Saturday 18th February 2011 was his canard to Chinese voters warning that “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS” resulting in an Islamic state and hudud Islamic laws.

Barely 24 hours later yesterday, the Prime Minister and UMNO President Datuk Seri Najib Razak decided to emulate the MCA President’s political chicanery and mendacity, producing his duly modified canard to Malay voters warning that “A vote for PAS is a vote for DAP” resulting in a “anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers” future for Malaysia – and which can only mean no Islamic State and no hudud Islamic laws!

Imagine the sheer political insanity of a Barisan Nasional campaign where MCA warns Chinese voters that “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS” in the sense that DAP will just be a stooge of PAS while UMNO warns Malay voters that “A vote for PAS is a vote for DAP” in the sense that PAS will be a puppet of DAP!

And horror of horrors, Barisan Nasional leaders do not see the sheer illogicality, insanity and even idiocy of such a campaign line!

No sane, rational and responsible political coalition would have used such diametrically conflicting canards – mutually cancelling each other out – with MCA warning Chinese voters that “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS” while UMNO warns Malay voters the diametric opposite that “A vote for PAS is a vote for DAP” with the clearly explicit threat that Chinese or Malay rights would be sacrificed in each scenario!

There can be no doubt that with Chua Soi Lek warning Chinese voters “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS” while Najib warns Malay voters “A vote for PAS is a vote for DAP’, Malaysians are seeing Barisan Nasional political chicanery, mendacity and bankrupticy of the first order.

But even more serious, this marked another important milestone in the Najib premiership – that in less than three years, the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia has “given up the ghost” on his signature 1Malaysia policy to create a Malaysia where Malaysians regard themselves as Malaysians first and their race, religion, region or socio-economic status second.

The racist, irresponsible and dishonest Barisan Nasional propaganda, warning the Chinese that “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS” and the Malay voters that “A vote for PAS is a vote for DAP”, is a total affront to the concept of 1Malaysia and Najib’s preachings calling on the moderates of the world to unite against extremists everywhere!

It stands as a testimony to the hypocrisy and bankruptcy of Barisan Nasional politics, where the basic thrusts of UMNO and MCA election campaigns are based on lies and falsehoods, and what is worse, sheer nonsense and illogicality which mutually cancels each other out.

In contrast, PKR, PAS and DAP offer a common message to all Malaysians to unite as Malaysians to save Malaysia from the corruption, abuses of power, injustices and racialism of UMNO/BN rule.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Ipoh Timor