Use ballot box to reject Umno’s political hooliganism, Kit Siang tells voters

Use ballot box to reject Umno’s political hooliganism, Kit Siang tells voters

By LOOI SUE-CHERN
May 24, 2014 The Malaysina Insider

The DAP has called on voters in Bukit Gelugor and Teluk Intan to punish the “political hooligans” in Umno and defend democracy by voting out Barisan Nasional in both by-elections.

Its parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang (pic) urged voters to use the ballot box to reject the “mob-ocracy” advocated by Umno members who stormed into the Penang legislative assembly, threatened to burn down the DAP's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and attacked the party's Kuantan office earlier this week.

"Voters of Bukit Gelugor tomorrow and voters of Teluk Intan next Saturday should cast every available vote to defend democracy and reject in unequivocal terms the mob-ocracy advocated by political hooligans in Umno.

"The voters have a special task in these two by-elections, which is to punish the Umno Youth political hooligans and to teach a lesson to everyone in Barisan Nasional," he said in a statement today, in reference to Wednesday’s incident when a group of people, who admitted they belonged to Umno Youth, barged into the Penang legislative assembly.

They were protesting against DAP's Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer’s “Umno celaka” (Umno be damned) remark in the state assembly on Tuesday.

On Thursday, a group of Federal Territory Umno Youth members stormed the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and threatened to burn down the building. Yesterday, the DAP's office in Kuantan was pelted with eggs.

Lim, who is the MP for Gelang Patah, said political hooliganism as seen in the past few days, the rise of racial and religious extremism since the general election last year, the increase in hate speech and growing intolerance of a moderate approach and a plural society must be stopped immediately before they ruin Malaysia's diversity.

He urged all Malaysians, including those in BN, to unite and deplore in the strongest terms the rise of political hooliganism and breakdown of civility in the political arena.

Lim said the present BN leaders have lost the art of their founding generation like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun V.T. Sambanthan “to agree to disagree agreeably”, and practise “gentleman politics” without resorting to lies, falsehood and calumny or the most corruptive influence of the politics of money.
Lim also took another swipe at Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Umno deputy president, whom he has accused of encouraging such political hooliganism.

"Muhyiddin has emerged as one of the patrons of political hooliganism when he said that it was a natural reaction by Umno Youth members to storm the DAP headquaters in Kuala Lumpur when their party was challenged.

"Muhyiddin would be the first to demand that police take the strongest action against anyone from the DAP, PKR or PAS, if they stormed Umno's head office at the Putra World Trade Centre, but he has shown his hypocrisy and chicanery when he exonerated the Umno Youth of political hooliganism by saying that their reaction was natural.

"(His remark) has provided the latest and worst example of double standards and double mindset of government leaders occupying important offices like that of the deputy prime minister and senior cabinet ministers," he said.

Censuring Muhyiddin for making excuses for the behaviour of the Umno Youth members involved, Lim said Muhyiddin has "dishonoured the office of Deputy Prime Minister by blessing the political hooliganism".

"He should have been in the forefront to denounce such unacceptable misconduct in the Malaysian democratic society.

"If the deputy prime minister is so cowardly, not daring to be in the forefront to denounce such political hooliganism and to demand that the strongest action be taken by the police and the Attorney-General's Chambers, then let the voters of Bukit Gelugor and Teluk Intan decide.

"Let them speak loud and clear in the two by-elections this month on behalf of 30 million Malaysians that the people want to protect and defend democracy and reject the mobocracy advocated by the political hooliganism advocated by Umno Youth political hooligans, who have found a patron in the deputy prime minister."

Muhyiddin said yesterday that "a party challenged will not stay silent" when commenting on the Umno Youth members’ actions had done in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, although he reminded party members to obey the law.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also hit out at Rayer in his Facebook posting today, saying it was unbecoming of the DAP rep to resort to ways that incited disharmony.

"We may differ in our political opinions but being abusive is uncalled for," Najib said.

Najib, who is also Umno president ,appealed to Umno members not to overreact by taking the law into their own hands, reminding them that any reaction should be within the boundaries of the law to maintain the image of Umno.

"Do not do anything irresponsible as we must strive to continue upholding the good name and reputation of our party," he said. – May 24, 2014.