Media statement by Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Wednesday, 30^th November 2011: 

Muhyiddin's speech at UMNO General Assembly “the mother of all lies, falsehoods and racism”

The speech by Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the UMNO General Assembly last night to UMNO Youth, Wanita and Putri wings is the “mother of all lies, falsehoods and racism”.

It qualifies as the worst and most irresponsible speech ever delivered by a Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President and I challenge any UMNO leader to cite any speech made by any Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President at previous UMNO General Assemblies which is worse, more racist and tell more lies than Muhyiddin's rants last night.

Muhyhiddin accusations against the DAP as anti-Islam and anti-Malay are false, baseless and pure unadulterated lies.

DAP is a fully patriotic Malaysian party wholly committed to the betterment of all races, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans and all religious, whether Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikkhism or Taoism.

What is most despicable are Muhyiddin's irresponsible, incendiary and seditious allegations, as for instance, that the DAP's agenda is to form a republic, with the rhetorical question founded on the lie:

“If not, do they dare to suggest the prime minister's position be selected based solely on elections and without being chosen by the Yang di Pertuan Agong? What is the meaning of this?”

For the record, DAP had never proposed that “the Prime Minister's position be selected based solely on elections and without being chosen by the Yang di Pertuan Agong”.

What new lie and mischief is the Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President up to now and I challenge Muhyiddin to substantiate his dastardly falsehood that the DAP wants to set up a republic.

Right from the beginning, the DAP had declared in Parliament in my first speech 40 years ago in Parliament on Feb. 23, 1971 that DAP fully supported the system of constitutional monarchy and that we “do not and have not questioned the sovereignty of Rulers”.

In making the most irresponsible and racist speech ever made by a Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President, Muhyiddin has lived up to his declaration that he is Malay first and Malaysian second – totally at variance with the 1Malaysia transformation programme of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in wanting to create a Malaysia where all Malaysians perceive themselves as Malaysians first and their race, religion, region and socio-economic status second.

As it is rightly said, a leopard cannot change its spots.

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