At the Pakatan Rakyat media conference in Sungai Limau Dalam close to midnight on Monday after the announcement of Mohd Azam Samat as the PAS and Pakatan Rakyat candidate for the Sungai Limau by-election, I urged all contending parties and candidates to make the by-election a model of clean, honest and decent politics by ensuring that there is no campaign of lies and falsehoods, character-assassination or the corruption of money politics.

I must express my great disappointment and disapproval that my call for clean, honest and decent by-election campaign in Sungai Limau had been violated on the very first day of the by-election campaign yesterday.

As reported today by Malaysiakini reporter Susan Loone in “UMNO bids to undermine PAS’ Islamic credentials”, in small, targeted ceramah groups last night, UMNO and Barisan Nasional campaigners sought to win the hearts of the 93 per cent Malay Muslim voters in Sg Limau by invoking the dastardly lie that the DAP plans to form a Christian State in Malaysia.

As I said at the earlier ceramah in Sungai Limau Dalam on Monday night, DAP fully and unreservedly supports the fundamental features of the Malaysian Constitution, in particular the provisions on Malay as the official language and the guaranteed position of the other languages, Islam as the official religion in the Federation and the freedom of religion for non-Muslims as well as the system of Malay Rulers and constitutional monarchy in the country.

These fundamental features of the Malaysian Constitution, together with the objectives of promoting and achieving democracy, good governance, economic justice, educational excellence and integrity in public life by eradicating corruption, greed, cronyism and abuses of power, are the common policy objectives of the Pakatan Rakyat parties of PAS, PKR and PAS.

It is expected that the contesting political parties and candidates will do their utmost to try to win the Sungai Limau by-election, but a line must be drawn to ensure that such a victory must be not be based on a campaign of lies, falsehoods, character-assassination and the corruption of money politics.

Are UMNO and BN prepared to renounce lies and falsehoods such as the lie that the DAP plans to form a Christian State in Malaysia in the Sg Limau by-election?
I call on UMNO and BN to end their campaign of lies and falsehoods in Sg Limau by-election as this is not only a great disservice to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia policy but a grave threat to multi-racial and multi-religious harmony undermining Malaysia’s competitiveness.