From sixth left: Shu Ying, Simon, Yew, Yong, Chin, Lim and the party members in a group photo.
KOTA KINABALU: Ummo could stand a chance on regaining the voters’ support in the next general election if the party was helmed by a new leadership from a clean background and who possessed integrity, said Liberal Democtative Party (LDP) president Datuk Chin Su Ping.
He said Umno had not changed their old ways despite being defeated in the 14th General Election (GE14).
He said the party had used Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos, a Malay extremist, to stir up religious issues when the party was in power, possibly to divert attention from the then Umno president and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was embattled with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
After the change of government, Chin said Umno adopted the same tactic, this time using its Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam to incite religious and racial tension.
“Since Umno has started working with PAS, the parties are directing their attention to destroy harmony through stirring up religion and racial issues,” he said when officiating at the joint annual conference for 11 LDP divisions in the west coast here yesterday.
He said Umno could have stand a chance in the next general election if the party was helmed by a new leadership with integrity and clean background.
Regrettably, Chin said Umno was led by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, while Najib was appointed as chairman of the BN advisory board even though they were faced with 87 and 42 charges respectively.
He said both Zahid and Najib would not have been prosecuted if there was no proof on their alleged wrongdoings.
“Umno is still attempting to help Najib cover up the 1MDB scandal even though the case has been brought to court.”
Additionally, Chin said Najib had claimed not to know Low Taek Jho but witness had revealed that the fugitive businessman had stepped in after the former prime minister hit a credit card snag.
He said Low had also brought a bank manager to Najib’s residence while a witness also claimed that the latter’s credit card usage had once raked up to RM3.36 million in a day.
He said Najib had previously refused to work with foreign countries in resolving the 1MDB issue.
On the contrary, Chin said the new government had managed to recover funds linked to 1MDB.
“It is absurd that our Malaysian leaders, including the embattled former prime minister and deputy prime minister, are not embarrassed at all by the staggering amount of court cases against them.
“Najib’s tagline ‘Malu Apa Bossku’ is an even greater humiliation to our country.”
Chin also took certain Umno members of parliament (MPs) to task for disrespecting the Parliament instead of playing their role as a good opposition.
For instance, he said Umno’s Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman often caused issues in the Dewan Rakyat and even challenged Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming to resign from his position.
He said the decision of the Speaker of the Parliament was final and must be adhered to by all MPs.
“But some Umno lawmakers do not care about the country’s progress or play their role as an effective opposition with their disrespectful antics in the Dewan Rakyat.
“Their behaviour is putting our country to shame to foreign countries.”
On a separate matter, Chin said the political landscape of the country in the next two to three years remained uncertain.
“At present, there is no opposition party that really stands out.”
He hoped that the Pakatan Harapan government would perform their duty well during their term, especially in delivering the promises made during the election.
He pointed out that there has been a lot of politicking recently, such as who would be the next prime minister, Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) infighting and whether Parti Peribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) was capable of controlling Malay voters.
Chin said the government’s move to introduce khat into the Bahasa Malaysiacurriculum, though a divisive issue to the Chinese community, could potentially unite the Malay voters.
“I hope the new Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would not repeat the same mistakes as BN.
“Always listen to the people and ensure majority of them agree to any policies that the government plan to introduce,” he urged.
Also present were LDP deputy president Datuk Lim Ming Hoo, vice president Yew Chau Khiong and Datuk Chin Shu Ying, secretary general Senator Datuk Yong Wui Chung, chief publicity officer Simon Chin and deputy secretary general David Ong.