How Najib drove DAP into sucking up to Mahathir

DAP under Lim KHAT Siang has long suffered from a perennial hangup, a political inferiority complex. That's because it has a political weakness that, though NOT of its deliberate making, has nonetheless been the Rocket Party's longtime deficiency - it lacks not only Malay support but also lacks Malay acceptance of the party as a Malaysian one.

Tahukah Si Putera saya dulu adalah Menteri Kewangan

The Malays especially in the Heartland view the DAP as principally a Chinese and even racist-anti-Malay party. As they say in politics, perception (in DAP case, how Malays view it) is everything.

Thus, it has been Lim KHAT Siang life-long ambition to penetrate into and be accepted by the Malay Heartland, which until so, the DAP cannot yet be considered as a Malaysian major political party.

That saw DAP through its years entering into many alliances with mainly Malay parties, eg. Semangat 46, PAS, Amanah, and even Mahathir's 3rd and very very racist Parti PRIBUMI.

While some like the first three, namely, Semangat 46 (under Ku Li), PAS (then under Allahyarhum Nik Aziz), Amanah, were fairly reasonable political partners, a later change of leadership in PAS, when Hadi Awang took over from the late Nik Aziz, proved the tenuous political partnership between DAP and PAS was based on personalities rather than parties. With Hadi Awang as President of PAS, Pakatan Rakyat ended in bitter acrimony for the Islamic and Rocket parties.

Then, having failed to learn from his failure with PAS, Mr KHAT shocked many with his obscene keenness in an incongruous alliance with his erstwhile arch-foe Mahathir who had by then left his own UMNO II due to intolerable marginalisation by his former protege Najib and cohorts.

The two's partnership in 2015 was deemed 'incongruous' because for decades Lim KHAT Siang had railed, ranted and raved against Mahathir for the latter's misdeeds in governance, misuse of power, cronyism, nepotism, profligacy and religion (for the last, read DAP CEC will consider proposal to take Mahathir to court for his '929 Declaration' and his '617 Announcement' that Malaysia is an Islamic fundamentalist state).

All that railing, ranting and raving came to an amazingly abrupt stop by Mr KHAT who became (since his new-found alliance with Mahathir) 'dumb' about Mahathir's earlier political sins, aiyoyo, such was the impact of their bromance.

In 2016 Mahathir formed another only-for-Malays party, his first being UMNO II. He called it the Malaysian United Indigenous Party or Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU, also known as PPBM and lesser known as PRIBUMI).

KHAT foolish flirtation with a very dangerous Mahathir was frowned upon by many - please read the following media extractions:

From NST (7 Dec 2016):

(VIEWPOINT) DAP will regret its alliance with Dr M, as it did with Pas

By BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

December 7, 2016 @ 3:51pm

Everything at the DAP conference last weekend was built around Dr Mahathir who was seated at the stage, among Pakatan Harapan leaders, flanked on both sides by the “Lim Dynasty” loyalists.

“Should the man they (DAP) had condemned for well over two decades be invited as a guest of honour at a DAP conference?” asks columnist Baradan Kuppusamy

Pix by Muhammad Sulaiman 

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP’s Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh Deo had famously said of any DAP partnership with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to topple Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, as an “unimaginable disaster waiting to happen.”

Ramparkal Singh, son of his distinguished father Karpal Singh, late spiritual guru of the DAP, is now deemed the DAP's new spiritual guru for his Karpal-like exemplary steadfast principles, but alas one NOT listened to by the DAP inner establishment

He was voicing his opposition to such an unlikely partnership, as the son who is carrying his late father Karpal Singh’s legacy.

His father would probably have said, ‘over my dead body’ to such an unholy partnership.

Malaysia's hero of steadfast principles 

But Ramkarpal was wrong when he said it in April last year, because many things have changed since. On Sunday, that “unimaginable disaster” took place amidst great unease among the DAP rank and file as the DAP (inner) leaders welcomed Dr Mahathir with open arms to the party's annual delegates conference.

Should the man they had condemned for well over two decades be invited as a guest of honour at a DAP conference?

What kind of partnership can they forge with the man who had used the ISA to arrest DAP leaders? Why did the party invite him just a week after turning him down?

These questions are being asked and discussed among the grassroots as DAP leaders come under severe pressure from MCA and Gerakan to explain the “betrayal” to the larger Chinese community.

A week before Sunday's conference, DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke had announced that Dr Mahathir was persona non grata because PPBM, of which Dr Mahathir is chairman, is not a member of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

His justification was weak but he stuck to his reasons.

A week later, Dr Mahathir made a grand entrance at the conference with veteran Lim Kit Siang, the latter’s son Guan Eng, life member Dr Chen Man Hin and their loyalists.

But some leaders, clearly upset with this turn of events, were unhappy. They did not hobnob with Dr Mahathir.

Everything at the DAP conference was built around Dr Mahathir who was seated at the stage, among Pakatan Harapan leaders, flanked on both sides by the “Lim Dynasty” loyalists.

Kit Siang was on his right and attentive to him but was visibly unsure of his footings.

A few days earlier, Najib had turn the tables on DAP, showing a video to Umno delegates of DAP rabble rouser ‘Superman’ Hew giving a speech on how Lim was exploiting Dr Mahathir to topple Najib.

Another clip showed Hew arguing as to why Chinese voters should support Malay candidates so that they can "screw the Malays.”

Najib had also claimed that the next general election would be a contest between Umno and the DAP, which Najib had described as anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

A political analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the speech by Najib probably forced DAP to invite Dr Mahathir.

“They were caught by surprise over what Najib had said and are now trying to hide behind Dr Mahathir, a Malay leader."

"They were trying to deflect Najib's criticism by inviting Dr Mahathir to their conference," said the analyst.

Although delegates had welcomed Dr Mahathir, they nevertheless kept their real views to themselves.

Many think it is a recipe for disaster while other say that Dr Mahathir had become the country’s ‘Mr Opposition’, a role previously played by Lim, and cannot be denied.

“We can't be in isolation of Dr Mahathir,” said a DAP leader. “We have to run with the fox and hunt with the hounds. We don’t have a choice.”

But Dr Mahathir has sparked controversy among the rank and file with leaders coming under pressure to explain themselves.

“He is an opposition man for all intents and purposes… no matter what his policies towards us were or what were our policies to him,” said a DAP leader, justifying the changed attitude towards the former prime minister.

Some leaders however are clearly upset with his grand entry, refusing to hobnob with Dr Mahathir.

Mahathir criticised by Ronnie Liu 

Dr Mahathir, who had once described DAP as “racist and anti-Malay and anti-Islam” said at the convention that he was badly wrong about the DAP.

He was forced to eat humble pie and repudiate two decades of politicking.

But such a marriage of convenience is founded on mutual benefits – the DAP leaders need his star power, pull with Malay voters and his ability to co-opt the opposition behind his agenda.

They needed something new to kick start their flagging appeal.

Dr Mahathir needs the opposition’s platform for his own ends having none of his own and the DAP has the best, biggest and the most well organised platform of all.

“This episode is typical of the DAP - to jump first and think later,” said a DAP delegate summarising the episode. “Just like with Pas, they will live to regret this new alliance.”

But Lim GE wants more

FMT: Please Come Back, Lim Guan Eng Begs Dr Mahathir

(24 February 2020)

KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP leadership today said it would call for Dr Mahathir Mohamad to return to the top post at Pakatan Harapan’s Presidential Council emergency meeting tonight.

This comes after Mahathir submitted his resignation letter to the Agong.

“I had seen Tun (Mahathir) this morning in his residence and was surprised when he informed me of his intention to resign,” DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng told the media today at the end of a meeting at his party’s headquarters here.

To cut the sad sorry tale of greed, hypocrisy and opportunism short, the bromance between KHAT and Mahathir ended in disaster for Pakatan Harapan which went from being part of the ruling government to the Opposition when then-PM Mahathir resigned abruptly from his position without even consulting or informing his coalition allies, just after 22 months of troubled rule, where Pakatan disappointed (time and time again) many of its supporters with its broken promises.

Caught you gullible guppies by surprise eh?
You knew me as PM for more than 22 years yet you thought I would keep my words?

😁😁😁 wakakaka 😁😁😁

Yes, the DAP might have plotted to use Mahathir (and Mahathir in turn to use the DAP) in a partnership that Ramkarpal described as an “unimaginable disaster waiting to happen”, but it was ‘Superman’ Hew Kuan Yau whose racist inflammatory "So that Aziz can SCREW the Malay people" provided Najib with the 'stick' to drive the DASP into committing itself with a racist like Mahathir.

Thus when the DAP leaders railed about not working with kleptocrats and racist, I feel amazed by their hypocrisy.