Media statement by Lim Kit Siang on Sunday, 12^th August 2012: 

Utusan’s “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign conceived by Umno anti-national extremists who are prepared to repudiate the legacy of the first three Prime Ministers

Utusan Malaysia is completely unrepentant of its “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign launched five days ago, continuing today to carry commentary and reports to justify its campaign.

It is clear that Utusan’s “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign is conceived by UMNO anti-national extremists who are prepared to repudiate the legacy of the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein.

This is because those behind Utusan’s “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign cannot be so naïve politically as not to know that the next target of the “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign will be the first three Prime Ministers, as the DAP’s stand that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion is exactly the stand taken by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein in the first 24 years of the nation’s history from 1957 – 1981.

If the UMNO strategists who approved and launched the Utusan’s “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign did not realize that their attack on DAP could be extended into an attack on the first three Prime Ministers on the very same grounds, then these highly-paid UMNO strategists are not worth their money and should be sacked immediately.

Of course, Mahathir can and has distinguished himself from the first three Prime Ministers in the “Haram Sokong DAP” attack by claiming that he had on Sept. 29, 2001 at the Gerakan national delegates’ conference made the unconstitutional declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state, an unconstitutional declaration which was given instant endorsement by the MCA and Gerakan leadership at the time.

Let me ask Mahathir whether by indirectly distinguishing himself from the first three Prime Ministers , is he in fact giving his endorsement to Utusan’s “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign?

So far only a middling UMNO leader has spoken up to dissociate himself from the irresponsible, despicable, anti-national and seditious “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign of Utusan – the Deputy ighHigher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who said that it is “not necessary” to declare it is “haram” for Muslims to support DAP as this is merely about differences of opinion in politics.

Saifuddin said: “This is not about what is permissible and not permissible, as in criminal offences. This is only politics.

“If we don’t agree, we can always use our persuasive power to defuse, to rebut or to bring forward our ideas.”

I congratulate Saifuddin for his sense of fairness and for speaking as a true Malaysian.

But Saifuddin is the lone voice in UMNO/Barisan Nasional as no other UMNO/BN Ministers or leaders had dared to publicly dissociate themselves from Utusan’s despicable, irresponsible, anti-national and seditious “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign despite being the blackest spot in the history of Malaysian journalism, calculated to create racial and religious distrust and illwill as well as to undermine national unity.

If there is a competition for the most anti-national newspaper in the country, Utusan Malaysia will win hands down with its “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign.

If Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not prepared to take firm action to deal with Utusan’s despicable, irresponsible, anti-national and seditious “Haram Sokong DAP” campaign, then the Prime Minister has forfeited the right to propagate his 1Malaysia policy or preach Wasatiyah or a moderate approach to religion.

Even worse, he would be demonstrating that he has not only failed to be a Prime Minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, or class, he is unable to prove that he is Prime Minister for all factions and groups in UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

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