Kit Siang tells government to get real and stop telling fairy-tales

Ana Ghoib Syeikh Malaya 5:19 PTG
Lim Kit Siang (pic) has slammed ministers and the police for overreacting to a New Year's Eve rally allegedly to topple the Government, saying that it portrayed Malaysia as a "basket case country" on the verge of political and economic collapse report The Malaysian Insider.

Describing the allegation as a "fairy tale plot," the DAP parliamentary leader took the nation's top cop Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to task for shocking the nation with a "flighty annoucement " 10 days ago that a planned gathering at Dataran Merdeka to protest price hikes was a plot to overthrow the Government.

"Khalid should have shown greater professionalism and gravitas," he said in a statement today.

Lim ticked off Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek for getting into the act of presenting to the world the spectacle of Malaysia as a “basket case country”.

He said Pakatan Rakyat is not involved in any plot to bring down the Government, as alleged by Umno-controlled media and BN-friendly blogs.

"I can confirm that no New Year's eve programme, including the alleged “topple government” rally plot, was ever raised or discussed at any Pakatan Rakyat leadership or DAP meeting and whatever is being planned for New Year's eve has nothing to do with Pakatan Rakyat or the DAP," he stressed.

He said what was clear was that the Najib administration, which has promised to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”, had to learn to live with a more awakened democracy, with more outspoken citizens and civil society.

The government, he said, has to accept the freedom of expression in light of Malaysians' unhappiness with a slew of price hikes as a result of the rising cost of living and reduced subsidies.

He said the BN government must learn to live in an informed society due to the advent of the Internet, and should not regard the expression of individuals in the social media as a national conspiracy against the state.

The Gelang Patah MP pointed out BN has many skeletons in its cupboards, and one of it was that Putrajaya has been funding the activities of Malay rights group Perkasa while the prime minister presents a moderate facade at national and international fora.

As such, Lim said Malaysians are entitled to know the amount of taxpayers' money which had been funnelled to Perkasa by various government agencies.

Malaysians have the right to demand that Perkasa refund every sen it has improperly received from the government for its anti-national activities, disseminating the politics of hate, intolerance and division in the country, he added.

"It is because the Najib administration has many skeletons like the secret funding of Perkasa, that Ministers and police chiefs are trying to distrct public attention with fairy-tale stories about a New Year's eve conspiracy to 'topple the government' - without realising that they are in fact committing an anti-national act and doing a great disservice to the nation by spreading the notion worldwide that Malaysia is a fragile and unstable country," he said. TMI