- Farah Salim
Irresponsible to force Johor snap polls, says Kit Siang
24 Jan 2022
By Farah Salim
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has condemned UMNO for the snap polls in Johor as the state has had the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the last two weeks.
Kit Siang who is also the MP for Iskandar Puteri said that it is irresponsible for UMNO who has a ‘court cluster’ to force the general election.
He also added that the revelation made by Bersatu President Muhyiddin Yassin that he was asked to intervene in the UMNO ‘court cluster’ cases was shocking.
“Muhyiddin’s revelation that the UMNO ‘court cluster’ had wanted him to intervene in their court cases when he was prime minister is most shocking. This shows that the top UMNO leaders do not uphold the principles entrenched in the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukun Negara such as the rule of law and the doctrine of separation of powers among the Executive, Parliament and the Judiciary.
“The UMNO ‘court cluster’ wants the Johor state general election to be a rehearsal of the 15th General Election which they hope will restore UMNO’s political hegemony with the return of UMNO hegemon/kleptocrats to power – and possibly a convicted criminal of corruption as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia,” he said in a statement today.
According to Kit Siang, if this political scenario eventuates Malaysians will have to deny that they are Malaysians when travelling abroad or they will the butt of international mockery and odium.
He said the denials of UMNO spokesmen that the Johor state election had anything to do with them are weak and unconvincing and that the ‘ministers cluster’ in UMNO will have no say whatsoever to determine the slate of UMNO candidates for the Johore state general election.
“A good test as to whether the Johor election is triggered by the ‘court cluster’ in UMNO is whether UMNO is prepared to elevate the issue of the war against corruption as one of the top issues in the Johor polls.
“It is clear that the cluster has deviated far from the UMNO principles of the first four UMNO Presidents – Onn Jaffar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Razak and Hussein Onn.”
