PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim must control and curb the poisonous narrative peddled by DAP, said a PAS leader.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the Islamist party took the latest developments in the political narrative seriously and described the statements by senior DAP leaders as highly inappropriate, capable of causing tension and disharmony in society.
He was referring to Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang who said last month that the Federal Constitution does not prevent a non-Malay from being prime minister and Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai who said on Sunday (Dec 17) that local government elections should be revived.
“Unlike Lim, who said that his speech was a statement of facts and not reality, Tan did not put a caveat to his suggestion even though Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming, when answering a question in Parliament early this year, stressed that the local government election is not the government’s priority now.
“As a former member of the government in the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, Tan should be more alert and sensitive towards the current government’s stance and policies, not the other way around.
“Unless his statement is a mere DAP charade, Nga also plays an important role in it,” Takiyuddin said in a Facebook post today (Dec 19).
While the DAP duo used grandiose words and ideas about a great world-class country rich in multiculturalism, democracy and administrative efficiency, Takiyuddin noticed that Tan’s proposal appears to contradict Lim’s rejection of single-ethnic politics, a core part of the DAP veteran’s dream of a non-Malay being appointed as prime minister.
“With almost absolute control of parliamentary seats in Kuala Lumpur by DAP, won’t local elections also only project a single-ethnic political image in terms of representation?” Takiyuddin questioned.
“PAS believes that both Tan and Lim’s statements are clearly motivated by the strengthening of DAP’s position and dominance over the country’s direction and journey by ignoring the cores, which have been binding all parties to a more sane, moderate and reasonable political agenda and culture.
“This further confirms the concerns of many, especially Malays, about DAP’s true intentions and whether it is sincere in upholding national interests or prioritising its ideology and parochialism,” he further asserted.
Takiyuddin, who is also Kota Bharu MP, also said lessons should be learnt from history, recalling the purpose of abolishing local government elections nationwide over 50 years ago.
“It was aimed at avoiding the dominance of local governments by a single ethnic group to prevent potential tension and disharmony among different communities,” he said. – Dec 19, 2023
Main pic credit: Bernama
