KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 – DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said although he had retired from the front-line politics, he will continue with the political struggle to make Malaysia a world-class plural nation, starting with the push to make Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of the country.
He said he was at Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) event at the Ipoh Convention Centre on Thursday as he supported the party’s objective to make Anwar the prime minister.
While this will be the greatest challenge for Pakatan in the upcoming 15th General Election, Kit Siang said it was possible in a statement issued today.
“I call on the voters of Malaysia, inside the country and in the Malaysian Diaspora worldwide, to single-mindedly unite with this one objective in mind. Our new slogan is: “Kita Boleh!”
Admitting that it would be a hard call to fulfill, he said the win in the 14th General Election that toppled the UMNO-BN led government had been hard as well but “if the Malaysian voters can perform a political miracle in the 14GE, they can perform another political miracle” in the 15GE on November 19.
“Malaysia must face the challenges of the nation to achieve our Malaysian Dream to be, in Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman’s words, “a beacon of light for a disturbed and distracted world”.
He said while the first challenge was accomplished on May 9, 2018 when the party surprised the world that Malaysians can undergo a peaceful and democratic transition of power.
“But we failed in the second challenge – to prove to the world that we can transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity acknowledged and lauded by the international community and that the 14GE will result in greater freedom, more democracy, good governance and a better life for all Malaysians – an inspiration to other struggling democracies and democrats all over the world,” he said alluding to the Sheraton Move that brought down the PH government only 22 months after ruling.
The 15GE will decide whether we continue with the high hopes and aspirations of a Malaysian Dream for a New Malaysia on 9th May 2018, or we end up a failed state in the next few decades.
“We must return to the original nation-building principles and policies as set out in the Constitution and the Rukun Negara – constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, good governance, public integrity, meritocracy, respect for human rights and national unity of our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural diversity where there are no first-class and second-class citizens whether based on race, religion or region.”
Nevertheless, ensuring Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister will only be the beginning, Kit Siang said, adding that the process of regenerating Malaysia to be a great world-class plural nation will involve decades of work and and not just a matter of five years following one general election.
“And it will not be accomplished by Anwar, but must be continued by a new generation of Malaysian leaders committed to “Malaysian First” ideology.”
— WE