KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) must strive to win over the Malay community to ensure the country’s revival since the general election is not erased, said DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.
In an interview with Malaysiakini, the Iskandar Puteri MP said the dominant community’s backing was crucial in order for the pact to remain in power and implement its intended visions and reforms.
“There is a need for more Malays to come on board. This (the 25 to 30 per cent) was enough for May 9 — for a change but it is not enough for a revival.
“[...] We must be able to increase the Malay understanding (of the government) and their support. More Malays must take ownership (of the change),” he told the news portal.
However, he said that efforts to convince the Malay community to back PH must be balanced with preserving the backing of the country’s other communities.
Failing that, Lim predicted that the PH government would not be able to stay in power.
“The 'New Malaysia' will fail, and we can go back to pre-May 9,” he was quoted saying.
He warned of the spreading “toxic politics of hate and fear” and cited the rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination organised by PAS and Umno recently as an example.
While he said both parties were in decline, effort must still be made to counter their narrative.
Lim previously told Malaysians that true change will not be possible within a single term under PH, noting that the pact needed to undo over six decades of alleged abuse and corruption inflicted on the country by the previous government.
While PH managed an unforeseen victory in the general election, it did not do so with strong support from Malay voters.
Polls by think tanks such as Ilham Centre and Merdeka Center have placed Malay support for the coalition to be as low as in the region of 17 to 20 per cent.
