PETALING JAYA, Feb 7 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim officially announced today his membership with DAP, saying he would prove claims that the predominantly Chinese Opposition party was not anti-Malay.

The former Umno minister said he chose DAP because of its proven track record, pointing to the Penang administration as proof that the party was consistent with its aspiration for a corruption-free Malaysia.

“Leaders must be honest, fair and aspire to do justice, and I believe DAP can and has succeeded in achieving all this,” Zaid told a packed press conference held at his residence here.

Also present was DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Government needs good leaders to solve problems. I see DAP as an effective government that can contribute towards solving our nation’s problems,” Zaid added.

Citing Penang, he said DAP fulfilled its promise for accountable governance by providing affordable housing and jobs for its residents.

Under Umno, Zaid was the law minister during the administration of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2008, but he resigned from the post the same year as a protest against a spate of arrests under the Internal Security Act 1960, resulting in suspension from the ruling party.

The year after, Zaid joined PKR, and then contested the Hulu Selangor by-election in 2010. He lost to Barisan Nasional’s Datuk P. Kamalanathan, now deputy education minister.

He quit PKR later that year after pulling out of a race for the party’s deputy president post and formed Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita).

Today, Zaid anticipated that his decision to join DAP would draw allegations that he has become anti-Malay, pointing to Umno’s attempts to paint the party as a Chinese chauvinist bloc.

The former Umno minister said such a tactic was devised to instil fear and to control the Malays. He believed it would not succeed.

“I can only conclude from the ferocity of their attacks that they know full well that this BN (Barisan Nasional) government will fall if Malay voters are not afraid of DAP.

“They know that when DAP can win the heart of the Malays, the support to Pakatan Harapan will be unstoppable. Here, I will work hard to tell the Malays that DAP are not what Najib and Hadi tell them,” he said.

Prime Minister and Umno president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and PAS chief Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang have consistently labelled DAP as anti-Islam in a move the Opposition claimed was meant to repel Malay support for the party.

But Zaid claimed today Najib’s credibility among the Malays has drastically dwindled due to the various financial irregularities plaguing his administration.

He said he is confident that the country’s ethnic majority are “wise” enough not to be influenced by the allegations against DAP.

“As the writer Usman Awang once said: ‘The Malays are wise.’ We shall see after the 14th general election if Usman Awang is right or wrong.”