Kit Siang: Pakatan must resume moderate centre stance

IPOH: Pakatan Harapan has deviated from its moderate centre stance in its quest against those who resort to hatred, intolerance and racial politics.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang (pic) said this had resulted in Pakatan losing support from both Malay and non-Malay communities for contradictory reasons.

"Pakatan must return to the moderate centre and not compete with the advocates of hate and intolerance who are in the margins of society in the politics of race and religion," he said in his opening speech during the Perak DAP 20th Annual Convention here on Sunday (Nov 24).

Lim also said there was a need to review the modus operandi of Pakatan component parties.

He also said DAP has been accused of not speaking up for the people when it was a leading voice of society before.

"Although DAP and its leaders did not agree with various federal government policies and actions, they tried to channel their disagreements through government sources but this was regarded as timidity or abandonment of principles and objectives.

"A new balance will have to be struck between maintaining solidarity and discipline of Pakatan and articulation of principles and objectives by individual component parties, which are not yet common Pakatan policies," he said.

"We have to find ways where leaders and activists in the Pakatan component parties can voice their dissent on existing government policies and measures without being seen as opposition-minded or motivated by an ulterior objective to bring down the Pakatan government," he added.

Among the things he said he did not see eye-to-eye with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the Prime Minister's expression that the Pakatan's Manifesto was not a 'bible', the 'flying car' proposal as a government project and the detention of 12 Malaysians for alleged links with the non-existent Tamil Tigers Liberation Front.