KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — DAP’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang admitted today that he is willing to work even with his nemesis Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in order to “save Malaysia” from the current policies that might plunge the country “down a slippery slope”.

Speaking to Malaysian students in Alexandria, Egypt yesterday, the Gelang Patah MP said the country is heading towards a “failed state” in a variety of areas, including nation building, politics, economics and education.

“For this formidable task, we must be prepared to put our differences in the past to one side and concentrate all our energies on one common agenda, to save Malaysia from all centrifugal forces to tear the country asunder.

“On this agenda, I am prepared even to work with Tun Mahathir to ‘Save Malaysia’,” said Lim, referring to the country’s longest-serving prime minister.

The DAP Parliamentary Leader once again touted his bipartisan “Save Malaysia” coalition, urging that the coalition’s first agenda must be to release Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after he was jailed for sodomy, and get him back into mainstream Malaysian politics.

Lim, however, insisted that the pact is a “grand coalition” post-Barisan Nasional and post-Pakatan Rakyat, unlike a unity government between PAS and Umno.

“It is a ‘grand coalition’ of MPs from both sides of the political divide. as well as both sides of the South China Sea, Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsula Malaysia, to defend constitutionalism and the rule of law with a new prime minister and a new Malaysian government — going beyond the existing political parties,” Lim explained.

Lim first mooted the “Save Malaysia” coalition as his own personal idea last month, saying that the pact’s objectives would be specifically to defend the Federal Constitution and uphold the rule of law.

Former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim suggested yesterday that Dr Mahathir and Anwar should bury the hatchet on various issues, and work with senior Kelantan Umno lawmaker Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to boot Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from government.

Dr Mahathir, however, claimed ignorance of the proposal earlier today.