Utusan Malaysia today carried its campaign to demonise me as an ogre and monster to a new height when in its main article on its editorial page by its senior editor Zulkiflee Bakar, posed the question: “Apa lagi Kit Siang mahu?”, launched a series of baseless attacks and insinuations against me.
Let me first answer the Utusan question: “Apa lagi Kit Siang mahu?”
My answer is: At least five thing – a clean, free and fair elections; Malaysia as a normal democratic country; restoration of rule of law; world-class education and a safe, green, healthy and united Malaysia.
If there is a clean, free and fair elections system, the Prime Minister in Malaysia today after the 13th general elections is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and not Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as Pakatan Rakyat would have no difficulty in winning 125 parliamentary seats distributed among PKR 45, PAS and DAP 40 each with a comfortable majority of 28 out of 222 parliamentary seats.
Even despite the dirtiest election in the nation’s history, with UMNO/BN resorting to three main dishonest and unscrupulous strategies of “Money Money Money”, “Lies Lies Lies” and “Fear Fear Fear”, Najib is a minority Prime Minister winning only 47% of the popular vote while Anwar and Pakatan Raykat won the majority of the 51% popular vote, first time in the nation’s 56-year history of 13 general elections.
As a result, for the first time in the nation’s history, the nation and Parliament will have a Prime Minister whose legitimacy is under a cloud as he does not command majority popular vote as compared to Anwar.
Can Najib and the Elections Commission blame substantial sections of the Malaysian people, in particular the new young generation of Malaysians who feel cheated in the 13GE when their clear choice who should be Prime Minister and who should form the new Malaysian government had been stolen from them as a result of the dirtiest general elections in the nation’s history?
Secondly, like all patriotic Malaysians, I want Malaysia as a normal democratic country, where all political parties and candidates accept the cardinal principle that voters have the fundamental democratic right to choose the elected government for the next five years, where there is peaceful and democratic transition of power through the ballot box, and where a change of government is regarded as a routine democratic exercise and not a national catastrophe, justifying the most dire and threatening of scenarios, like chaos, mayhem and a repeat of May 13 Incidents.
Thirdly, the restoration of the rule of law, where the law is no respecter of persons but would be upheld with no immunity or impunity because of a person is ensconced in the group of cronies protected by the powers-that-be.
If there is a restoration of the rule of law, where the law is no respecter of persons, the former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdullah would have been arrested, charged, prosecuted and jailed for making the most reckless, irresponsible, seditious and racist of speeches in the past 44 years!
Why is Mohd Noor getting immunity and impunity for making the most seditious and racists speeches in the past 44 years?
Similarly, why is the Perkasa Vice President Zulkifli Noordin enjoying immunity and impunity for his seditious lies and falsehoods, such as accusing me as the cause of the May 13 riots in 1969?
Yesterday, on the eve of the 44th anniversary of the May 13 riots in 1969, Zulkifli sent out a series of criminal and seditious tweets, such as:
“Tomorrow is May 13… the 44th anniversary of race riots in Malaysia which was the atrocity of chauvinists including Kit Siang’s party which used the slogan Malai-Seh or Die Malay.”
These are downright lies and falsehoods, as I was never in Kuala Lumpur on May 11 – 13, 1969, and was never involved in any processions through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, not to mention the alleged slogans like “Malai-See”.
In fact, former Umno member Tamrin Ghafar, who is son of former Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba, had spoken at ceramahs during the 13GE, clearing me of any involvement in the May 13 riots, saying that it was a mini-coup in Umno itself to topple the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
The sources quoted by Tamrin was Tunku himself and the former Home Minister, Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie.
Fourthly, world-class education, whether primary, secondary or university for all Malaysians. At present, Malaysia lagged behind other countries in educational standards for science and mathematics subjects, whether at the primary or secondary levels Our universities also trail behind universities in other countries, as we fail to be ranked even in the World’s Top 400 Universities.
Fifthly, a safe, green, healthy and united Malaysia. I need only mention Johor Baru which is the capital of crime in Malaysia, where no person feels safe and everyone is haunted by the fear of crime – a totally unacceptable state of affairs which must be corrected without any delay whatsoever.
I am prepared to have a rational debate with Utusan Malaysia or anyone on what is best for the future of the country, but Utusan Malaysia is not interested in any such rational debate but only in carrying out the Umno agenda to demonise me.
For instance, Mingguan Malaysia yesterday carried a front-page report about rumours that a DAP official had tried to bribe the Registrar of Societies to get the DAP deregistered – when there is no totallyt truth or basis whatsoever.
But what is shocking is that Utusan could put such a rumour on its front page, creating the most disgraceful record in Malaysia and world journalism, where rumours become front page news.
How low can the Utusan editors plumb to in their scraping the bottom of the barrel to placate and please their Umno masters in the campaign of demonisation against DAP leaders and me?
Utusan Malaysia also carried a report and a commentary on my describing Najib as a “shaitan” (devil”) when I had never done such a thing.
Utusan has violated all ethics and journalistic standards. Can it descend further?