Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s statement yesterday that his party cannot offer the DAP to use its logo as Bersatu must remain a Malay party if the DAP is de-registered which would render the party’s parliamentary and state assembly candidates unable to use the Rocket logo is being exploited by many quarters against the DAP.

Mahathir defended his stance as necessary in order to appeal to the Malay electorate.

He argued that Harapan’s past approach under its predecessor Pakatan Rakyat in 2013 failed to gain sufficient Malay support.

He said: “Whether we like it or not, the Malays are still very communal, which was why they are supporting Umno.

“If they see a multi-racial party, they will not support it. They (Pakatan Rakyat) got a lot of support from the Chinese but little Malay support and without it, you can’t win.”

Mahathir said Bersatu as a Malay party can replace Umno but it will not turn into an Umno itself.

He added that changing the Malay mindset will not happen “overnight” and will take a long time.

I may not fully agree with Mahathir but I can understand his standpoint.

Pribumi Bersatu is definitely more Malaysian than UMNO, as the former wants Malays to unite and work with other citizens as Malaysians, while the latter wants Malaysians to remain as Malays, Chinese and Indians and is even trying to polarize the next elections by mischievously and malevolently portraying the forthcoming 14th General Election as a battle between the Malays and Chinese.

The Pakatan Harapan parties of DAP, PKR, AMANAH and Bersatu do not want the next general elections to be a race war and to be a battle between the Malays and Chinese, but for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, to take one big stride forward – to unite as Malaysians to purge the country of the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy and save the country from the trajectory of a failed and a rogue state.

Pakatan Harapan is asking voters to unite as patriotic Malaysians to save Malaysia from being a global kleptocracy, a failed and a rogue state.

In contrast, UMNO/BN wants Malays to unite against the Chinese by falsely portraying the 14GE as a battle between Malays and the Chinese.

I want to ask the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other political parties in Barisan Nasional why they allow UMNO carry out such an irresponsible propaganda campaign which, if successful, will cause grave disunity and division in multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural Malaysia.

Have the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other political parties in Barisan Nasional absolutely no say whatsoever about the BN coalition’s propaganda agenda for the 14th GE?

MCA leaders are claiming that Chinese voters are swinging back to the MCA, and they estimate that some 35 per cent of Chinese voters will vote for MCA candidates, after losing support of 85 per cent of the Chinese voters in the 13th General Election.

MCA leaders should stop building castles in the air, believing if they continue to support UMNO’s racialist campaign to portray the 14th General Election as a battle between the Chinese and Malays, they will get 35 per cent support of Chinese voters.

I have grave doubts. Unless MCA leaders are prepared to show that they have political principles, and put the interest of the community and the nation above MCA party interests, they could do even worse than the last general election.

The MCA paid a heavy price in the 13th General Election because the MCA propaganda attack of lies, fake news and false information against DAP leaders lack credibility and consistency – when compared to the record of DAP leaders down the decades in standing up for the rights and interests of all Malaysians, whether it be my political incarceration or Guan Eng’s imprisonment, disqualification as Member of Parliament and civil disenfranchisement for five years, including standing for elective office, because of defending the honour of an underaged Malay girl.

As a result, MCA was reduced to a 7/11 political party (winning only seven parliamentary and eleven state assembly seats).

If MCA leaders and propagandists continue with their baseless demonization of DAP, based on lies, fake news and false information, instead of getting back the support of some 35% of Chinese voters in the 14th General Election, MCA may end up as a ¾ (tiga suku) political party, with three parliamentary and four state assembly seats in the 14th General Election.

I challenge UMNO/BN leaders to stop their propaganda campaign of lies, fake news and false information against the DAP and Pakatan Harapan, and to conduct a clean election campaign for the 14GE.

[Speech at DAP Raub Kopitiam dialogue in Kampong Sungai Klau on Sunday, 23rd July 2017 at 5 pm]