Hadi has proved himself a disgrace to political Islam as he cannot comply with my 48-hour challenge to substantiate his allegation that DAP discriminates against the East Coast by opposing equal development for Terengganu and Kelantan

PAS President, Datuk Haji Hadi Awang has proved himself a disgrace to political Islam as he cannot comply with my 48-hour challenge to substantiate his allegation that DAP discriminates against the East Coast by opposing equal development for Terengganu and Kelantan.

I am reminded of Saturday’s 47th ABIM annual congress at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia in Nilai themed “Visi Islam dalam aspirasi Malaysia Baharu” and the keynote address by Professor Datuk Dr. Siddiq Fadzil on “Malaysia Baharu & Kesinambuangan Reformasi Islahiy”, where Dr. Siddiq stressed that the prerequisite for the building of a New Malaysia is to undertake a “human and cultural transformation”.

He spoke of “nilai malu” which he described as “nilai teras ajaran Islam”.

He said:

“Sifat malu adalah kekuatan moral yang dapat mengawal seseorang daripada melakukan perbuatan keji. Sifat malu juga adalah ciri orang bermaruah. Justeru, orang bermaruah malu berperilaku tidak bermoral, malu melakukan korupsi, malu menganggotai organisasi korup, malu di perintah kerajaan korup, malu dipimpin ketua korup, malu ditipu dan diperbodoh, malu menjadi bangsa yang ketinggalan, malu negaranya desebut ‘kleptocracy at its worst’.”

Dr. Siddique spoke about “moral deficit” and the death of idealism in politics, which have given rise to many modern political ills including the politics of lies, falsehood and fake news.

The greater culprit today in the politics of lies, falsehood and fake news is none other than President Trump of the United States, and Dr. Siddique referred to a Washington Post report which calculated that Trump had made 2,140 false or misleading claims during his first year in office – an average of nearly 5.9 per days.

Dr Siddique concluded: “Kebenaran harus diselamatkan segera sebelum terkubur dalam politik bohong. Untuk itu Malaysia Baharu harus mengamalkan politik moral yang komited terhadap misi pendaulatan nilai kebenaran dan kejujuran.”

Dr. Siddique speech struck a chord in me, as for decades, I had been a victim of demonisation and fake news, at the receiving end of an long-time orchestrated campaign to paint me as quite a devil, a puaka, even jembalang; that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam; cause of May 13, 1969 riots; a communist; a stooge of foreign powers; multiple agent of foreign powers including CIA, KGB, MI5, Australian Secret Intelligence; received RM1 billion from Mahathir, RM100 million from tycoon Robert Kuok and over RM1.2 billion from Israeli sources to fund the 13th General Election; given RM40 million to a news portal; offered PAS President Hadi Awang RM100 million to defy the Sultan of Selangor; that I dominate and run Pakatan Harapan; made other leaders like Tun Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Mohamad Sabu and Husam Musa into my stooges and puppets; want to be Prime Minister when Pakatan Harapan wins the 14th General Election; want to disband Malay Regimen and destroy Malaysia-China relations, and a litany of incredible fake news, false information and downright lies!

It was even alleged that on Dec. 3, 2016, I had a secret meet with Tun Mahathir where we sealed an agreement that after the 14th General Election, Mukhriz Mahathir would be the Prime Minister and I the Deputy Prime Minister.

In actual fact, there was no such Dec. 3, 2016 meeting with Mahathir at all and in my various meeting with Mahathir before the 14th General Election, we never discussed the subject of Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister!

Some of these purveyors of lies, falsehoods and fake news are inventing new ones against me and the DAP, like the recent “cock-and-bull” story that I had advocated after the May 1969 general election for Peninsular Malaysia to be split into two, East Coast for the Malays and West Coast for the Chinese.

However, my “Jelajah Raya di Pantai Timor” in Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan in July last year had vindicated me and confirmed what I had always believed – that the lies and falsehoods which form the core of the UMNO demonisation campaign against me and DAP leaders, painting us as anti-Malay and anti-Islam, do not have any traction with the majority of Malays and Muslims, as they are not so stupid and irrational as to succumb to the lies, fake news and false information pumped out by the UMNO propaganda mills of lies and falsehoods.

The question is why the PAS President, Datuk Seri Haji Awang, is setting out to be the Trump of Malaysia with his latest lie that the DAP discriminates against the East Coast by opposing equal development for Terengganu and Kelantan?

I am confident that just as the UMNO lies, falsehoods and fake news about the DAP being anti-Malay and anti-Islam have failed, similarly the lies, falsehoods and fake news being churned out by Hadi that the DAP is anti-Malay and anti-Islam will also fail.

Both UMNO and PAS leaders do not seem to realise that we are in the age of information, where information travels at the speed of light and that they are fighting a losing battle to believe that the Malays are so gullible as to fall victims to the lies, falsehoods and fake news churned out by the UMNO and PAS propagandists.

Najib and Hadi must wake up to realise that the Malays are living in the second decade of the 21st century, and not in the first decade of the fifthteen century!

Lim Kit Siang MP for Iskandar Puteri