Malaysian First Lim Sidesteps Poser For Pm Zooms In On Muhyiddin S Silence

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DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has yet to respond to former law minister Zaid Ibrahim’s question of whether the former would direct the same hard-hitting “Malay first or Malaysian first” question - originally posed to Muhyiddin Yassin in 2010 - to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
In a statement today, Lim sidestepped the poser and instead chose to zoom in on Muhyiddin’s silence over renewed prodding on the issue.
ADS“Seventy-two hours have passed and Muhyiddin has no answer to the question of whether he would lead a ‘Malaysian first’ campaign.
“He also has no answer to my first question when he was converted from ‘Malay first, Malaysian second’ to ‘Malaysian first, Malay second’,” Lim said, adding that Malaysians have to draw their own conclusions.
Muhyiddin had on May 4 said that his “Malay first” stance was a thing of the past and that his Perikatan Nasional coalition now represents all Malaysians.
Lim then questioned the sincerity behind the former prime minister’s remarks.
Zaid in turn accused Lim of “playing hardball” with Muhyiddin by refusing to acknowledge the latter’s shift in position.
“Will Lim ask Anwar the same question now? Or add another, like is it ‘Petronas first or Sarawak first’?” Zaid asked, alluding to the ongoing dispute between the federal-owned Petronas and state-owned Petros in Sarawak.
In 2010, Lim challenged Muhyiddin to state whether he identified as Malay or Malaysian first.
In reply, the then-deputy prime minister said he was Malay first, but this did not mean he was not a Malaysian.
The comment has dogged Muhyiddin through the years among non-Malays, often being used as fodder to paint the former prime minister as an ethno-nationalist. - Mkini

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