IPOH, Oct 19 — DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang questioned today the tepid response from Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers to the prime minister’s speech on the mid-term review of 11th Malaysia Plan in Parliament yesterday.

The Iskandar Puteri MP noted that many of his BN peers wore glum expressions when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad explained the reason for the review.

"Are they unhappy at the objective to create unity among all ethnic groups in Malaysia and the restoration of Malaysia as an Asian Tiger?” he asked in a statement.

Lim pointed out that the PM’s speech laying out the government’s measures to make the country "once again roar as the Asian Tiger” would have drawn rousing cheers from patriotic Malaysians, holding out the applause from the ruling Pakatan Harapan MPs as example.

He suggested the discomfort and dejection on the faces of former government lawmakers signalled their opposition to Malaysia as a "truly democratic” country