Debunk the Five Big Lies of UMNO/BN 13GE Campaign

By Lim Kit Siang

Tonight, on the fifth anniversary of the “308 political tsunami” of March 8, 2008, I want to debunk the five Big Lies of the Umno/Barisan Nasional 13th General Elections campaign.

Lie No. 1 – that Malaysia will be bankrupt in five, three or even two years’ time (depending on which Umno/BN leader is telling the lie) if Pakatan Rakyat forms the Federal Government after the 13 GE.

Only a person with a very low IQ will make or believe such a lie.

Have the state governments of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan which are run by Pakatan Rakyat gone bankrupt after five years in the case of Penang, Selangor and Kedah and for over 22 years in the case of Kelantan?

If Pakatan Rakyat succeeds in the journey to Putrajaya in the 13GE, we want to be the Federal Government not just for one term, but also to be able to continue to get the national mandate to govern Malaysia in the 14th, 15th and future general elections.

The fastest way to end Pakatan Rakyat’s mandate to govern Malaysia is to lead the country to bankruptcy and economic ruin and this is the last thing that a Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will do.

In fact, a Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will prove that we can govern Malaysia better than Umno/Barisan Nasional, leading the country to new heights in national unity and harmony, good governance, international competitiveness and economic prosperity.

Lie No. 2 – that the Malays and the Chinese will be oppressed and marginalized. To the Malay electorate, UMNO leaders warned that if Pakatan Rakyat governs Malaysia, the Malays will suffer as the DAP will be the dominant party and PAS is only a puppet and stooge of DAP; while to the Chinese crowd, MCA and the other BN component parties warned that the Chinese will be the real victims as the DAP is a “eunuch” to PAS as DAP leaders would not dare to speak up or stand up to the PAS leaders who will be the real powers of a Pakatan Rakyat government.

This double falsehood typifies the hypocrisy, dishonesty and total lack of ethics of the Umno/BN leadership who could spread different and even conflicting lies to different audiences – trying to incite racial hatred and distrust by arousing baseless fears among the Malays and non-Malays that they will be oppressed by the other communities.

Lie No. 3 – the Malays warned that a vote for PR is a vote for DAP and the oppression of the Muslims as DAP wants to establish a Christian state; while the Chinese and non-Muslims warned that a vote for PR is a vote for PAS and the amputation of their limbs with the introduction of hudud and establishment of an Islamic State.

Lie No. 4 – that there will be another May 13 riots and racial conflagration if Pakatan Rakyat wins in the 13GE, particularly with the specific warning that Malays will lose their political rights if Umno is defeated. This is a downright lie as it is only the UMNO leaders and their cronies, and not the ordinary Malays, who will lose their political rights if UMNO loses, as replacing UMNO in the corridors of power will be the Pakatan Rakyat representing all races, religions and regions in the country.

In and out of Parliament, I had challenged the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to declare that UMNO/BN leaders will accept the verdict of the electorate and will effect a peaceful and democratic transition of power from BN to PR if this is the result of the 13GE, but Najib has been conspicuously silent on this issue up to now although he claims to want to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”.

Umno/BN leaders are showing their utter lack of responsibility, ethics and even patriotism by spreading these three lies about the 3Rs on race, religion and riots.

A Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya is committed to demonstrate that all races and religions in Malaysia stand to benefit, as it will be a better government than Umno/BN to promote and safeguard the rights and welfare of all races, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans and Ibans, with full freedom of religion as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution.

Lie No. 5 – that Pakatan Rakyat is “sama-sama” like Umno/BN, particularly with regard to corruption and abuses of power. One of the first tasks of a PR government in Putrajaya is to show it is not “sama-sama” like the UMNO/BN government, which has presided over worsening corruption, cronyism, financial scandals, abuses of power and the subversion of the independence, professionalism and integrity of the national key institutions in the country.

Let all patriotic Malaysians who want a peaceful democratic change in Malaysia in the 13GE ala-South Korea Spring in 1997 and not ala-Arab Spring help to debunk these five Big Lies so as not to allow UMNO/BN leaders and propagandists to continue to mislead and bamboozle the Malaysian voters after five decades.

(Speech at DAP Kepong Anniversary Dinner at Taman Menjalara, Kepong on Friday, 8th March 2013)