UMNO/BN at sixes and sevens over Pakatan Harapan’s structure and leadership line-up last Thursday

It is quite hilarious to see the UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers at sixes and sevens in the past two days over Pakatan Harapan’s structure and leadership line-up announced on Thursday midnight after a meeting of the Pakatan Harapan Presidential council.

The first to react was the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak who seemed to be in a state of shock, complaining about the absence of the DAP leaders in the top three positions in the Pakatan Harapan line-up, for two reasons:

Firstly, this is completely inconsistent and contrary to the UMNO/BN “black ops” media campaign of lies, fake news and false information with one overpowering theme – that DAP leaders dominate Pakatan Harapan and that the Malay leaders in PKR, Amanah and Pribumi Bersatu, whether Mohamad Sabu, Azmin Ali, Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and even Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad were just my stooges and puppets, completely at my “beck and call” and obedient to my directives and wishes.

Secondly, which is the fate of most propagandists, Salleh and many UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers have come to believe in these lies, fake news and false information, and they must be genuinely shocked at the Pakatan Harapan structure and leadership line-up which is out of line with their propaganda.

I was quite flattered, as for the first time in many months and years, the UMNO/BN propagandists forgot their script that I am the “dictator of dictators” not only in DAP but also in Pakatan Harapan, and we have the rare spectacle of UMNO/BN leaders championing me for being conspicuously absent from the Pakatan Harapan leadership line-up.

I thank Salleh and the other UMNO/BN leaders for their solicitious concern for my political future and the crocodile’s tears in asking whether DAP had been sidelined in Pakatan Harapan structure.

I can assure UMNO/BN leaders that DAP had not been sidelined in Pakatan Harapan and there is also no basis for swinging to the other end of the spectrum, like Salleh’s other question whether “the line-up was deliberately done to make as if the coalition is dominated by the Malays?”

Let Salleh and the UMNO/BN leaders get it straight once-and-for-all – the Pakatan Harapan is not dominated by Malays, which does not mean Pakatan Harapan is dominated by Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli.

What it means is that Pakatan Harapan is dominated by Malaysians!

It is time that the UMNO/BN leadership learn from Pakatan Harapan to see Malaysian problems and issues from the multi-racial Malaysian spectacle and not from any mono-ethnic angle.

To salvage the situation and to ensure that the astronomical. funds, resources and energy invested in the UMNO/BN “black ops” media operation of lies, fake news and false information to paint DAP and DAP in the worst possible light to not come to nought, the UMNO Youth leader and Minister for Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin tried the save the day and offered the lame excuse that although the DAP leaders are not named Pakatan Harapan leaders, DAP will decide on the policies of Pakatan Harapan

Khairy said the party which holds the most parliamentary seats in Dewan Rakyat will decide on the Pakatan Harapan’s policies and manifestos – which is utter bunkum as the four constituent parties of Pakatan Harapan, DAP, PKR, AMANAH and Pribumi Bersatu are all equals in Pakatan Harapan and there is no “political hegemon” like UMNO in the Barisan Nasional.

There must be consensus and agreement by all the four constituent Pakatan Harapan parties before a policy could become Pakatan Harapan policy, and no one political party, whether DAP, PKR, AMANAH or Pribumi Bersatu can unilaterally impose its will and policy on the Opposition coalition in the way UMNO can and had done in Barisan Nasional for the past few decades.

But as the saying goes, “Many cooks spoil the soup”, and the Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Sabri Ismail, lacking the sophistication and finesse of Khairy to get out of a delicate situation, returned to the old blunt propaganda line when speaking to Ampang UMNO division delegates meeting and raised the “spectre” of a non-Malay from DAP who could become Prime Minister because there was no constitutional provision to bar such a scenario.

He said: “In the end, we Malays will be split into three if this happens, if they (the opposition) form the government , DAP will have the most seats, and constitutionally, they are entitled to decide who will be prime minister.

“If Lim Guan Eng wants to become prime minster, then he will be (if the opposition wins). If they don’t dare to put Guan Eng (as prime minister), they can put up a Malay, but it will be a Malay like the Selangor menteri besar, who cannot make decisions because everything is controlled by Teresa Kok, Hannah Yeoh and whomever.”

I am really appalled that Malaysia has such “half-past six” Ministers who do not know what they are talking about. But what is even more appalling is that Sabri is supposed to be among Ministers who are more educated and intelligent than other Ministers.

The more the UMNO/BN Ministers speak, the greater fool they become!

At least, Malaysians can get free entertainment from the speeches of UMNO/BN Ministers.

Lim Kit Siang DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Gelang Patah