The Malaysian Insight | Interview 2|10.6.2018

BOTH men are ambitious and both carry scars of past battles.

Both are surrounded by impatient and suspicious supporters.

The last time one of them was the prime minister and the other the prime minister-in-waiting, it ended in the nastiest scrap in Malaysian political history.

Critics believe it will just be a matter of time before Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim clash again, a development that will send the new government into a tailspin and the country into a period of tumult.

Lim Kit Siang has heard the chatter but he is betting on a different outcome this time.

The DAP veteran said both men and other senior leaders within PH are changed individuals and the coalition is more stable than it appears.

Time and the circumstances of the country in the years leading up to the historic 14th general election have changed both Mahathir and Anwar, said Lim.

‘I think we have all changed. Mahathir, Anwar and all the leading players in Pakatan Harapan have learnt the lessons of life to be better persons and to be more sensitive, more sensible and better Malaysian leaders, ” he told The Malaysian Insight. Read the rest of this entry »

The Malaysian Insight | Interview |10.6.2018

LIM Kit Siang does not want Malaysians to manage their expectations.

He does not want them to think in terms of small changes and piecemeal improvement in governance or to be limited by communal sentiments.

“Malaysians can dare to dream again – and dream big. Many had given up hope, as witnessed by the mass migration of the best and brightest.

“Even worse, for the past few years, Malaysians whether in the country or part of the diaspora were ashamed to admit that they were Malaysians because of the infamy of the kleptocracy.

“Malaysia and Malaysians are coming in from the cold,” Lim told the Malaysian Insight.

For a start, the Pakatan Harapan government wants to build a country where people treat each other as fellow Malaysians.

This nation can then be beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world, he said.

His words will offer comfort to Malaysians who after having witnesses so many false dawns in the country are a cynical lot.

They believe that the euphoria of a new Malaysia following May 9 will ‎die off shortly and it will be a return to the days when race and religious dominate discourse and decision-making.

In an interview with The Malaysian Insight, Lim shared his feelings about the historic GE14 especially for a politician who spent close to five decades on the losing side.

Below are excerpts of the interview. Read the rest of this entry »