KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang launched a volley at the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition today, asking its component leaders if they really practised their oft-touted consensus principle when Umno appeared to hold veto power over decisions.

The veteran opposition lawmaker called Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bluff, and claimed that the prime minister’s declaration last night that his coalition had “agreed to disagree” on going-ahead with a controversial rally tomorrow signalled the “death knell” for BN.

“What has happened to the much-vaunted consensus principle of Barisan Nasional which had been hailed as the key to BN’s success?

“Has the BN consensus principle been abandoned and replaced by what Umno wants and decides, where in the 13-party coalition, the views and stands of the other parties do not matter when they clash with the views and stand of Umno?” Lim asked in a statement.

The Gelang Patah MP pointed out that the majority of BN’s political party leaders were against tomorrow’s rally as it is the “complete antithesis to the very idea, concept and vision of Malaysia Day”, which celebrates the partnership of Tanah Melayu with Sabah and Sarawak as a federation.

“Leaders of Sarawak and Sabah component parties of Barisan Nasional have called for the cancellation of the racially-charged and anti-Malaysia  Red Shirts September 16 rally in Kuala Lumpur, and the ignoring of their calls is a sign of their irrelevance and impotence in the Barisan Nasional coalition, except to provide the numbers to allow Najib to become the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia,” Lim said.

He then challenged the BN component leaders to rethink their party’s position in the coalition when their views were ignored.

In a late night news conference after chairing a lengthy BN supreme council meeting here, Najib announced that the 13 component parties have agreed to disagree on whether or not to support a “red shirt” gathering in the city tomorrow.

Najib also said some BN components had expressed concern over the demonstration, but only said none of the party leaders will attend.

The “red shirt” rally was first announced last month but its organiser’s identity was unknown until last week.

Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia (Pesaka), headed by an Umno veteran and former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Mohd Ali Rustam, has emerged to announce that his Malay martial arts group is holding a gathering at Padang Merbok tomorrow.

The rally initially called on Malays to unite and counter the purportedly Chinese-dominated two-day Bersih 4 rally on August 29 and 30, but has since been promoted as a gathering of the people without taking into account their racial background.

Mohd Ali has also banned Pesaka members from wearing the colour red, in a bid to distance his group from the “red shirt” rabble rousers.

However, another Umno grassroots leader Datuk Jamal Yunos who has been speaking on a “red shirt” gathering, has been reported saying he will lead a group to march through the city, including through Kuala Lumpur’s designated Chinatown in Petaling Street.

Jamal’s group is said to be meeting up outside the Kompleks Kraftangan Malaysia on Jalan Conlay, near the Petronas Twin Towers.