Yow Hong Chieh The Malaysian Insider Jan 14, 2012
ALOR STAR, Jan 14 — Lim Kit Siang today challenged prime minister to promise that Barisan Nasional (BN) will respect the outcome of the next national polls and guarantee free and fair elections.
The DAP parliamentary leader also dared Datuk Seri Najib Razak to make good on his call for moderation by retracting the vow he made at the Umno general assembly two years ago to “defend Putrajaya with our bodies and broken bones”.
“This is not the voice of moderation, this is not the voice of moderation,” he told the PR convention here.
“We want the prime minister and all Umno leaders to declare that they will accept the decision in the 13th general election, even if Pakatan Rakyat forms government and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becomes prime minister.”
The opposition and electoral reform group Bersih has criticised elections in Malaysia as unfair, citing alleged fraud, vote-buying and uneven media access.
Ten of thousands of Malaysians rallied on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on July 9 last year to demand free and fair elections, prompting the Najib administration to promise a raft of concessions aimed at speeding up electoral reform.
Lim also challenged Najib to transform Umno-owned paper Utusan Malaysia into a beacon of reason to show the latter truly believed in transforming Malaysia into a better nation.
“The word ‘transformation’ is one of Datuk Seri Najib’s favourite words. Transform Utusan Malaysia into a voice of moderation,” he said.
“Can he transform Utusan Malaysia into a voice of moderation and not a voice of extremism, slander, lies and all that is not true?”