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.

TMI: What went through your mind when it became clear that victory was won?

Lim: Firstly, a sense of relief that the country had been spared the agony and trauma which would accompany a hung Parliament – the PAS leadership declared its intention to be the “king-maker”, by winning 40 Parliamentary seats, to prop up Najib Razak as the prime minister despite the 1MDB scandal. Political Islam in Malaysia will never recover from such an unprincipled association!

Secondly, laying to rest the spectre of May 13.

TMI: You once said DAP wanted nothing more than to be a strong, loyal opposition. Then came the 2008 tsunami and a DAP leader became chief minister. How do you feel now that DAP has achieved what was once thought unattainable?

Lim: I never expected to see a change of federal government in my lifetime. It was a dream come true not only for me but for entire generations of Malaysians – particularly those in the 60s, 70s, and above.

It was an unique experience – the feeling of hope renewed, a Malaysia reborn, of being given a second chance to reset nation-building policies.

TMI: Should Malaysians dare to dream or should we manage our expectations given racial and religious considerations?

Lim: Malaysians can dare to dream again – and dream big. Many had given up hope in Malaysia, as witnessed the mass migration of the best and brightest of Malaysians overseas over the decades, creating the Malaysian Ddaspora.

Even worse, for the past few years, Malaysians whether inside the country or in the Malaysian Diaspora were ashamed to admit that they were Malaysians because of the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of a global kleptocracy.

TMI: PH was won on the promise that it could bring down the price of food, housing, healthcare. Can PH realistically achieve these goals?

Lim: Pakatan Harapan must prove that the Malaysian Spring of May 9, 2018 is not an Arab Spring. To give Malaysians more freedom, democracy and a better life. But this cannot be achieved overnight, it will take some time to undo the decades of misrule and undemocratic governance.

TMI: When you look at Najib Razak and his wife, what do you see? Do you feel any empathy?

Lim: What a great opportunity for good lost. Najib promised Malaysians “the world’s best democracy”. He delivered instead a global kleptocracy.

What is unforgivable is Najib’s role in the 1MDB scandal and his indifference to Malaysia being regarded by the world as a global kleptocracy.

It will be his lasting ignominy.

TMI: What’s next for Lim Kit Siang? You are not in the cabinet. What will your role be?

Lim: I have declined to be nominated to the cabinet as I believe that there are enough young and idealistic talents from the DAP to serve as Ministers.

I will continue to play my role to build a New Malaysia, where we treat each other as fellow-Malaysians to build a great Malaysian nation which can be “a beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world” and not to become a “disturbed and distracted” nation ourselves. – June 10, 2018.