KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — The multiple crises in the country demonstrate an urgent need for a new administration to “save Malaysia” from becoming a failed state, according to DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

Continuing his push for a bi-partisan government in view of the problems ailing both the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition pact, the DAP parliamentary leader said the choice could come from the public or the present elected lawmakers.

Citing religious and racial incidents such as the recent Taman Medan church protest and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s manoeuvres against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that are prompting others to suggest candidates for the post, Lim claimed the country has never been in a worse situation.

“Either the country holds a snap general election or the present batch of 222 MPs elected in the 13th General Election on May 5, 2013 should rise above party affiliation to elect a ‘Save Malaysia’ prime minister who is committed to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation as Malaysia’s way of life and model to the world,” he said in a statement.

Lim first mooted the “Save Malaysia” coalition as his own personal idea in February, saying its objectives would be specifically to defend the Federal Constitution and uphold the rule of law.

The move was prompted by the hostilities within PR over PAS’s ambitions for hudud in Kelantan that pit it against DAP and prompted the latter to sever ties with the Islamist party’s president, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Lim previously claimed that BN was also in crisis over Umno’s support for hudud, which he said was irreconcilable with the rest of the multiracial coalition, and later expanded this to include Dr Mahathir’s demand for Najib to resign over a host of issues.

The protest against a church in the Muslim-majority community of Taman Medan was the latest flashpoint in Malaysia’s already tense interfaith ties, which was made more worrying due to the 2001 race riots in an adjacent area.