Blog by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 15^th February 2010: 

No other Chinese New Year with such a blizzard of conversational topics and talking points

Probably in no other Chinese New Year since Merdeka has there been such a blizzard of conversational topics and talking points, from hot-oven scandals like:

• the two missing jet engines disappearing all the way to Uruguay;

• a multi-billion ringgit submarine that cannot dive;

• Robin-Hood blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s son’s trial and tribulations in Sungei Buloh prison;

to perennial subjects like

• the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal still awaiting the prosecution of “big fishes”;

• who killed DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock who went willingly to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters on July 15, 2009 and came out as a corpse the next day;

• when MACC will break its apron-strings to its political masters making it the catspaw of Umno/BN political agenda to declare war on Pakatan Rakyat instead of declaring war on corruption;

• Malaysia’s unchecked plunge down the slope of decreasing international competitiveness accompanied by avoidance of FDI and flight of domestic capital;

• approaching anniversary of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan and concept dogged by the worst politicking of race and religion in recent years, spearheaded by none other than the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Umno media Utusan Malaysia;

• the difficult birth of Najib’s Malaysia.2 new economic model with the continuing and even worsening crisis of brain drain, demonstrating that Najib’s administration lacks the political will for the government transformation to win the international competition for talents needed to successful free Malaysia from the middle-income trap and catapult to a high-income country.

And on the political front, the perennial political persecution and trials of Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim; the false light at the end of the tunnel for restoration of national and international confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary highlighted by the 5-0 Federal Court decision on the two Perak Mentri Besar case and the escalation of Umno/Barisan Nasional conspiracy to cause the disintegration of Pakatan Rakyat.

More problems have been created than resolved even before the end of first year in office of Najib as Prime Minister.

This is not good sign either for Najib as Prime Minister or the country.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Ipoh Timor