KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — The ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition’s component parties must cease internal disputes as it may otherwise lose the 15th general election to its political rivals, DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang said today.

Lim traced back how PH had succeeded against the odds when it defeated the Barisan Nasional in the 14th general election in May 2018, pointing out that PH had also managed to stay in one piece so far in its first term of government.

“I endorse the call by the Prime Minister and Pakatan Harapan Chairman, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Pakatan Harapan parties to stop infighting or risk Pakatan Harapan losing power in the 15th General Election,” the Iskandar Puteri MP said in a statement today.

“It is indeed a miracle that the four different political parties in Pakatan Harapan had achieved the feat of toppling the Barisan Nasional government and had survived intact as one coalition in the past 14 months,” he added.

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Lim noted however that the Federal Opposition is now hoping for PH to only govern for half of its five-year term, after its previous hopes — for the PH coalition to disintegrate in a matter of months after winning GE14 — did not materialise.

Lim acknowledged that PH is still not a “natural government coalition” after 14 months in power as the federal government, saying that it must go on to become such a coalition to win the GE15 and subsequent general elections in order to make Malaysia a world-class nation that is respected by the international community.

He said PH is now faced with the challenge of fulfilling its promise to reset nation-building policies to make Malaysia a country of “unity, excellence, freedom, justice and integrity” and to turn the country away from its previous trajectory of moving towards a “failed” state under the former administration.

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Lim said all PH leaders must be conscious of Dr Mahathir’s remarks yesterday, noting PH would be measured by how much has been achieved in fulfilling the responsibilities and trust given to them by the public if it were to lose power over infighting.

Lim did not specifically pinpoint anyone or any party in PH over the infighting matter, but the rivalry and internal tensions between PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his deputy Datuk Seri Azmin Ali has blown out into the open and dominated national headlines and discourse.

PH is composed of DAP, PKR, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and Parti Amanah Negara.