Kit Siang: M’sia needs PM whose hands aren’t tied

KUCHING: Malaysia needs a prime minister who can save and make the country rise to its former glory again, said Democratic Action Party (DAP) veteran leader Lim Kit Siang.

He said the country cannot afford to have a prime minister whose hands are tied and is at the beck and call of his party.

“Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri may be the poster boy of Barisan Nasional (BN) but if he were to become the prime minister again, he will be without his hands and feet, and will only serve as a stooge,” he told a press conference at a food court in BDC here yesterday.

He said should BN be able to achieve the simple majority to form the government, Ismail Sabri might not even be appointed as prime minister given that Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is the current president of Umno as well as BN chairman.

“Ismail Sabri may become the prime minister if BN were to link up with Perikatan Nasional (PN) but this depends on the outcome of our election results.

“Based on his televised interview (last night) where he said that BN wants to become the dominant party even if the coalition does not win outright, this is an admission that Umno may not be able to achieve the simple majority and that they have to form a coalition of BN and PN,” he said.

Lim also said that in the event that PN managed to secure a simple majority to form the government but that its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was defeated in Pagoh, this would mean that there is a possibility that PAS president Datuk Sri Abdul Hadi Awang might become the next prime minister.

“Umno is very confident of defeating Muhyiddin in Pagoh and if he is defeated, we are left with Hadi who may end up being the next prime minister which is the horror of horrors.

“We will then have liar as a prime minister who previously alleged that DAP was anti-Islam, amongst others,” he said.

Lim said in order to make Malaysia great again, voters should throw their support behind Pakatan Harapan (PH) and ensure that its chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becomes the next prime minister.

“To do so, there must be a high percentage of voter turnout in this election. I don’t know if we will get the same voter turnout as the last election in 2018 which was at 83 per cent.

“But I do hope that the turnout this time will reach over 80 per cent because there is a chance for Anwar to become the tenth prime minister and for PH to either form a government on its own or with other coalitions to form the government that is not dependent on BN or PN,” he said.

Also present at the press conference was PH Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.