DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang says he only wants the best for Umno ahead of the upcoming state elections in order to ensure that the unity government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim succeeds.

However, the former Iskandar Putri MP noted that should former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak receive a pardon, it would cost Umno voter support instead of rejuvenating them.

“I want the Anwar unity government to succeed which means I want Umno to be stronger than both PAS and Bersatu.

“I believe the only way to restore Umno to its former glory is for the party to return to its original nation-building principles and policies as entrenched in the Constitution and the Rukun Negara,” Lim said.

He said this included strengthening judicial independence and prioritising the fight against corruption.

Lim pointed out that the first three Malaysian prime ministers were all Umno presidents who led the party and the nation based on the policies and principle of a plural society.

“The present Umno president, Zahid Hamidi blamed Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the hatred the party and some Umno members held towards DAP. He said it was Mahathir, during his days in the party, who gave a false impression about DAP.

“Zahid also said, ‘But in the end, he (Mahathir) is the one who accepted them and involved them in the government. Even PAS and Bersatu had accepted them in the past’,” Lim said, citing comments made by the deputy prime minister.

The DAP stalwart then took aim at Mahathir over recent statements made by the latter.

Lim accused Mahathir of reverting back to his “Mahathirism” ideology, which he said contradicted the spirit of unity he had claimed to support during his second tenure as prime minister from May 2018 to February 2020. – FMT