PAS members and supporters in Selangor must decide whether to support PAS President, Abdul Hadi Awang and win at most one seat in Selangor State Assembly and no parliamentary seat or vote for Pakatan Harapan to end Malaysia infamy, ignominy and iniquity as a global kleptocracy and restore cleanliness and justice in Malaysian public life.

Of the DAP’s 15 State Assembly seats and three parliamentary seats in Selangor before dissolution, PAS can play the spoiler’s role and theoretically threaten the the Bangi (formerly Serdang) pariamentary seat and three State Assembly seats of Sekinchan, Kuala Kubu Baru and Sungai Pelek.

Hadi has made PAS into the first Islamic party in the world to co-operate and support a kleptocratic regime, which replaced the international respect, admiration and esteem enjoyed by Malaysia for over half a century into one of world-wide scorn and humiliation as a global kleptocracy.

I told UMNO/BN Ministers and MPs in Parliament that a kleptocracy is a government of four Ps – Pencuri, Perompak, Penyamun and Penyagak.

What I had not expected was that the PAS leadership under Hadi could be very comfortable and “at home” to support and prop up the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to help weather the international storm of disapproval and condemnation arising from the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

Like Najib, Hadi has brought PAS to a new height. In a short period of a few years, Najib had exchanged the international repute and esteem for Malaysia under the first five Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah into world scorn and humiliation at being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

Hadi’s “achievement” is no less than that of Najib, gaining international recognition as the first Islamic party in the world to support and prop up a global kleptocracy!

Hadi has changed a lot – from the time when he had praised DAP as the only political party for defending PAS in its hour of greatest need in 1978, when the PAS state government in Kelantan was toppled by UMNO.

DAP was once regarded by PAS as a friend of Islam, and Hadi is on record as saying that despite “our differences over alcohol, pork, hudud and halal matters, we have something in common, which is to stand up against corruption, injustice and to fight for fairness for all”.

But Hadi is now following the footsteps of the UMNO leaders, propagandists and quinoa cybertroopers, accusing the DAP of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

If DAP was anti-Malay and anti-Islam, why did Hadi led PAS in the agreement to form Pakatan Rakyat in 2008 and fought the 13th General Election on the platform of “PAS for All”, working with DAP?

DAP is a Malaysian political party, promoting the rights and interests of all races and religions in the country, and we have within our ranks Malaysians from all races and religions, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans and Orang Asli; whether Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs or Taoists.

DAP is not anti-Malay and anti-Islam as demonstrated by the record of the ten-year DAP-led Penang State Government, serving interests of all Malaysians in Penang, regardless of race, religion or socio-economic background.

We cannot be anti-Malay or anti-Islam for this will be anti-Malaysian, which comprise the diverse races and religions in the country.

Why then are there people who insist on creating the scare that DAP is anti-Malay and anti-Islam when they know that these outrageous charges are fake news and false information?

The answer is very simple – these are the real enemies of a peaceful, harmonious united, progressive and prosperous multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural Malaysia who want to create disunity, division and discord by setting race against race and religion against religion because this is their only way to hold on to political power.

We are living in a very troubled world, where the voices of extremism and fanaticism want to hijack public discourse and mainstream space by preaching hate, distrust, suspicion, intolerance and conflict.

Malaysians must wake up and realise that moderates of whatever race, religion or politics will lose out by default to the extremists and fanatics, if they are not prepared to stand up to defend and fight for moderation in the country and refuse to cede any ground in public discourse or mainstream space by professing zero tolerance for extremism and fanaticism.

In Saudi Arabia, an important event will take place on Wednesday, 18th April, when the country’s first cinema in 35 years will open in Riyadh.

To serve a population of more than 32 million, the majority of whom are under 30, Saudi Arabia wants to set up around 350 cinemas with over 2,500 screens by 2030.

Does Hadi agree with such reform and advocate that cinemas be allowed in Kelantan?

The DAP decision not to use the Rocket logo, which had appeared in the ballot papers for eleven general elections from 1969 to 2013, was not an easy one, but a most painful and heart-wrenching decision for all DAP leaders.

For some five decades, the Rocket symbol had been identified with the uphill struggle, with many ups and downs, trials and tribulations, for an united, just, democratic, progressive and prosperous Malaysia.

DAP leaders have not and will not abandon or betray the DAP principles and struggles with the decision to use a Pakatan Harapan common logo and not to use the Rocket logo, because the 14th General Election is probably the only opportunity in many decades for a change of Federal government and for Malaysia to take the first step to become a normal democracy where voters can change the government peacefully and democratically through the ballot box, without the threat of violence, chaos or catastrophe.

We want to ensure not only individual candidates and DAP can win in the 14th General Election, we want to ensure that all Pakatan Harapan candidates of all the four component parties in Pakatan Harapan – DAP, PKR, AMANAH and Bersatu – can win over a simple majority of the 222 Parliamentary seats in Malaysia in the 14GE so as to form the next Federal Government in Malaysia to Save Malaysia from becoming a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state.

The DAP decision not to use the Rocket logo but the Pakaktan Harapan common logo of PKR’s blue eyes is a supreme sacrifice of DAP and a supreme strategy and game-changer by Pakatan Harapan to send out a loud and clear message that the time has come for all Malaysians – including the 3.6 million UMNO members and one million PAS members – to rise above race, language, religion and even political parties to Save Malaysia so as to reset nation-building policies and directions by returning to the fundamental principles laid out in the Malaysian Constitution and key nation-building documents like the Rukunegara for Malaysia to be a united, democratic, just, progressive and prosperous top-class nation in the world.

(Speech at the DAP Kota Alam Shah 14th General Election Fund Raising Dinner in Klang on Friday, 13th April 2018 at 8 pm)