KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — Much of Malaysia’s problems stem from a “denial syndrome” plaguing the Cabinet as seen in the assertions made by several ministers in their defence of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, veteran opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said today.

Describing the Cabinet of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as resembling the “zombies” featured in popular television series “The Walking Dead”, the DAP parliamentary leader listed a number of their remarks in the last one week in response to the mammoth Bersih 4 street rally last weekend and more recently, the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) held in Putrajaya, which he argued had painted Malaysia in bad light.

“Malaysians must be thoroughly shocked — at least 13 ‘stupid things’ said by Najib’s ‘power people’ in the past 48 hours – setting a world record of at least half a dozen a day! “No wonder, Malaysia is in such deep trouble,” Lim said in a statement.

The Gelang Patah MP urged the Cabinet members to return to the “real world” by addressing the problems facing the administration instead of skirting them.

He also said Najib can set an example by first recognising the significance of the Bersih 4 rally and the criticisms made during the IACC calling the BN federal government to be more accountable.

“It is time that Najib and his Cabinet return to the real world of Malaysians and not remain in the world of ‘walking dead’ and ‘zombies’.

“Najib should set the lead – stop the fatal “denial syndrome” which refuses to see any good either in the historic Bersih 4 overnight rally… or the 16th IACC which brought 1,000 delegates from over 130 countries to Putrajaya,” he added.

Lim noted that the Bersih 4 rally transcended racial and religious borders in calling for good governance while the three-day IACC demanded a zero-corruption government by calling for an end to impunity and answers to the two financial scandals in Malaysia, naming them as the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad controversy and the RM2.6 billion “donation” to Umno.

Despite the strong criticism coming from the public and the international community, the Gelang Patah MP said Najib and his ministers have continued to turn a blind eye.

He listed 13 instances where they had said “stupid things” to defend the administration from the criticism, among them being Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor saying the speakers at the IACC were “possessed” for slamming Putrajaya and Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s assertion that the conference was not the best place to discuss the contentious RM 2.6 billion political donation received by Najib.

Abdul Rahman is also a Cabinet member.