KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 ― In an open letter today, Lim Kit Siang urged the federal Cabinet to convene a “Save Malaysia” summit involving NGOs and politicians across the divide, including past leaders like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and jailed PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The DAP veteran said Malaysia is currently facing a “national crisis” with the value of the ringgit plummeting to its lowest since the Asian Financial Crisis over 17 years ago and a decline in public confidence in the government due to controversies like those surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“The root causes of the crisis of confidence are not just economic, but also political and about good governance, in particular the two scandals of the 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion deposited in  Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts before the 13th general election,” he said in his letter.

The removal of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from the Cabinet and Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail from the post of Attorney-General late last month had only exacerbated matters, he said.

“I call on the Cabinet today to take the bold step to face up to the national crisis plaguing Malaysia and to convene a National 'Save Malaysia' Summit involving all political parties and NGOs before or on Merdeka Day on 31st August to form a national consensus on a blueprint to save Malaysia from becoming a rogue and failed state,” Lim said.

The Gelang Patah MP said all political parties and NGOs should send their representatives form a protem committee to convene the summit and decide on an agenda.

The summit, he added, must include leaders like Anwar and Dr Mahathir, as well as other veteran leaders and politicians like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan and Tan Sri Simon Sipaun.