By Yow Hong Chieh
June 06, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang slammed Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir today for claiming that the PAS party poll results show that the DAP and PKR have influenced the Islamist party into sidelining its ulama faction.
Lim said the Umno Youth executive councillor’s “wild, baseless and irrational” claims were proof that no one in Umno or Barisan Nasional (BN) could live up to the aspirations of young Malaysians, who wanted a better Malaysia after “lost decades” under the ruling coalition’s rule.
Mukhriz (picture) said on Saturday that the rise of the professional, or Erdogan, faction in PAS’s top leadership showed that the party now only championed the multi-racial line of its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners and no longer fought for the Islamic state.
“Congratulations to the DAP and PKR for succeeding to influence PAS to the extent that only those aligned to them were elected as PAS vice-presidents and even the deputy president,” he had told reporters in Jerlun.
“The influence of the DAP and PKR in PAS is very substantial. This does not reflect that PAS is free from the influence of those who are actually against Islam.”
Lim asked whether “Umno wannabe” Mukhriz would be prepared when youths rise up against BN rule in Malaysia despite a recent call by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for youths to defend the administrative capital.
Lim said young Malaysians would not defend Putrajaya as the seat of “an undemocratic, high-handed, corrupt and decadent regime”, pointing out that Egypt has just sentenced its former Finance Minister Yussef Boutros Ghali to 30 years in jail on graft charges.
“I have confidence that there will be one million youths in Malaysia to defend Putrajaya a la Tahir Square — not to defend Najib, Umno and Barisan Nasional but freedom, democracy and political change in Malaysia by democratic and constitutional means,” he said.