Veteran Malaysian politician Lim Kit Siang fears the ruling coalition is in danger of collapse

Democratic Action Party (DAP) veteran politician Lim Kit Siang fears the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition is in danger of disintegration and has urged party members to ceasefire in their feud with other coalition leaders.

Lim sent an internal memo to party members urging the MP’s and state assembly reps to consult party leadership over their grievances, Malaysiakini says today (August 16).

The memo says the feud is “risking the disintegration of the coalition and with it the hopes for a New Malaysia.”

This is not the first time the elderly statesman made such comments on the coalition’s future.

In June, he issued a statement on his blog saying he feared the gay-sex video scandal implicating a cabinet minister could have caused the collapse of the coalition.

Lim Kit Siang is a staunch believer in the Pakatan, his party has been one of the forces in the previous opposition coalitions. It gave full support to the opposition when it joined the Barisan Rakyat.

It was also a strong partner in the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat formed by Anwar Ibrahim. Lim also brought the party to be a member of the ruling coalition that defeated the Barisan Nasional in May last year.

In his blog yesterday, he made a call to Malaysians to rise above the ‘fissiparous and centrifugal forces’ threatening to tear the country apart.

He urges the country to reunite to build a ‘New Malaysia’ which is a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity.

He warned that continued public criticism could escalate into a free-for-all, where every single party leader becomes the subject of attacks from other Harapan components.

He also dismisses the need for some to play the cards of ‘individual heroics’ because it would endanger Harapan’s larger goals of building a “New Malaysia.”

Writing in Malay on his blog, Lim says, “In two weeks we will celebrate the 62nd Merdeka on August 31 and in one month time we will celebrate the 56th Malaysia Day.

“Come and let us start the ‘New Malaysia Month’ that will end on September 16 and fend off attempts by divisive groups who want to break our harmony and divide us.”

Several Pakatan leaders were in a cat-fight over the Islamic calligraphy issue, the presence of Zakir Naik in Malaysia while some rose against Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s style of ruling the country.

These caused major rifts within the Pakatan and more leaders of the coalition are now calling for truce and for a return to calm within the government. -/TISG