UMNO accuses Tun Dr. Mahathir of being my stooge while MCA/Gerakan accuses me of being Mahathir’s puppet.

Can UMNO/Barisan Nasional make up their mind as to who is whose stooge and puppet?

Tun Dr. Mahathir is over 91 years ago and had been Prime Minister of Malaysia for over 22 years. Why should be he become my stooge, and how have I suddenly become so powerful as to become the “king-maker” in Malaysian politics, directing the actions and thoughts of former Prime Minister Mahathir, former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and other political leaders including Opposition Leader and PKR President Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Amanah President, Mat Sabu?

I am 76 years old, dedicated myself to 51 years of full and active involvement in Malaysian politics because of my love for Malaysia to ensure that the country can become a model prosperous and democratic plural nation for the world. I have been twice detained under the Internal Security, hauled to court countless times on trumped-up charges, my son Lim Guan Eng had been detained under the ISA and gone to jail and lost his position as Member of Parliament to defend an underaged Malay girl. Why should I become a puppet of Mahathir?

Both Mahathir and I have strong views and opinions. Mahathir is not my stooge and I am not his puppet. We co-operate as patriotic Malaysians who feel that we have to work together to Save Malaysia from becoming a global kleptocracy and hurtling towards a failed and rogue state.

The present batch of UMNO/BN leaders just do not understand that in politics, there are roles apart from being a stooge or a puppet.

UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers are now drowned in a sea of lies, falsehoods about DAP leaders, but there seems to be a change of tactics.

For some 50 years of my political life, I have virtually been blacked out in the UMNO-owned and controlled mainstream media, whether New Straits Times, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian or TV3, becoming a “non-person” like Stalin’s Soviet Union.

But in the past three months, a new phenomenon occurred in the Umno owned/managed mainstream media, where I appear almost daily, if not in New Straits Times, then in Utusan, Berita Harian or TV3, even with pictures although for the past few decades there had been a standing directive in the UMNO/BN mainstream media not to use my photograph – but there were no news, facts or truth, but downright lies, falsehood and fake news to demonise me, describing me as a devil, an hantu, puaka or even jembalang, as if I breathe fire or eat babies for breakfast, that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam, that I was the cause of the May 13 racial riots in 1969 (exactly 48 years ago) although I was never in Kuala Lumpur during that period and was in fact in Kota Kinabalu on that tragic day of May 13, 1969.

What was the reason for this new phenomenon, to change tactics from “blacking out” all references including photograph of me in the UMNO mainstream media to daily staple of lies and falsehoods about DAP leaders and me?

The reason is simple – Najib and his UMNO “braintrust” strategists and advisers are worried that UMNO/BN can lose the 14GE, and they are doing their utmost to frighten the Malay voters from supporting the DAP, Pakatan Harapan and Pribumi Bersatu by escalating and intensifying their demonization of DAP and myself.

If Najib and his UMNO advisers are fully confident that they will win in the 14GE, there is no need for them to manufacture fake news and escalate and intensify their demonization of DAP and myself, to the extent of reversing their 50-year policy of blackout of all references to DAP leaders and myself to one of daily publication of fakes news and lies about DAP leaders and me.

But Najib and the UMNO propagandists and strategists are out on a fools’ chase, for it would benefit them more if they address the real political and economic reasons why there is such a great and unprecedented restiveness and unhappiness among traditional UMNO ground and even among the 1.6 million government servants because of the corruption, misconduct and abuses of power of UMNO national and state leaders.

In fact, I will not be surprised if for the first time, the majority of the civil servants vote against UMNO in the 14th general election, although publicly they must be seen as faithful supporters of UMNO.

For instance, who is the second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani trying to bluff when he said that the Mahathir-Nazri debate on the 1MDB scandal has “nothing to do” with the government?

It is precisely because of the 1MDB scandal which has caused Malaysia to be ridiculed world-wide as a global kleptocracy, making Malaysians ashamed when abroad to declare that they are Malaysians as other questions like, who is MO1 and why the Malaysian government is doing nothing about the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal, to follow suit.

Johari cannot be more wrong when he clamed that 1MDB scandal had been “debated extensively in Parliament” when MPs are not even allowed to ask questions about the 1MDB scandal although almost every other day, the 1MDB scandal is making headlines in other parts of the world!

For the record, Parliament has never conducted any debate on the 1MDB scandal.

Yes, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had conducted a probe into the 1MDB, but this was before the PAC had access to the latest information about the 1MDB scandal, in particular the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from over US$3 billion ill-gotten gains from 1MDB international money-laundering.

Even on the PAC Report, Members of Parliament was never given an opportunity to debate it in Parliament.

The Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB had been classified under the Official Secrets Act and denied access to all MPs, except PAC members.

Furthermore, the PAC recommendations based on preliminary investigations into the 1MDB scandal had been ignored for almost a whole year – and the PAC Chairman dared not pursue the matter. Why?

I welcome the Mahathir-Nazri debate on the 1MDB scandal. I will personally attend the debate, to be held in Padang Rengas on March 25.

This debate will break the enforced firewall to prevent a healthy and democratic debate and people’s demand for accountability for the mother of all government scandals in the nation’s history.

[Speech at the dialogue with Pakatan Harapan Youth + Pribumi Bersatu Youth (Armada) before launching of Secretariat of Pemuda Pakatan Harapan + Armada Pandan at Taman Mega Ampang, Selangor on Monday, 13th May 2017 at 10 pm]