-Lim Kit Siang, March 23, 2013.
In response to a question from a reporter after visiting Taman University market in Gelang Patah yesterday morning, I stressed that there is absolutely no legal, constitutional or any legitimate ground for any punitive action by the Registrar of Societies against the DAP, whether suspension or deregistration.
The DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections last December had been above-board and a transparent and democratic process although there was an honest mistake from a computer glitch when announcing the results.
The DAP CEC has no doubt that there can be no justification whatsoever for the Registrar of Societies to take any action against the DAP for the party elections, especially as the DAP leadership had not received any complaint from party delegates on the CEC elections while the DAP had fully co-operated with the Registrar of Societies with regard to queries and requests for clarification.
This is why I am baffled how the Utusan Malaysia today could carry a front-page headline report that the ROS were facing “difficulties in its probe” on the DAP CEC elections last December.
The Utusan Malaysia front-page headline story has proven right my suspicion of “high-level conspiracy afoot in BN ‘dirty tricks’ department to suspend or ban DAP so that the Rocket symbol could not be used in the 13GE”.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the BN leaders have no confidence about their prospects in the 13GE and they are toying with various unprecedented “dirty tricks” for UMNO/BN to try to steal the 13GE.
The latest issue of the Economist on the 13GE carried a report “Malaysia’s looming election – Video nasties” which said: “In fact, the outcome is in doubt, for the first time in Malaysia’s history”. (The Star spun the Economist report with the headline: “Barisan tipped for elections victory”.
The Economist report said:
“Mr Najib has the advantages of incumbency—such as deciding when to call elections.”
In fact, the very opposite is the case, as Najib has exhausted all the advantages of incumbency, such as “deciding when to call elections”, because of an unprecedented series of inconsistencies and indecisiveness causing him to miss his most ideal timing for the 13GE, i.e. in 2011 including his one-time favourite date of 11.11.11.
The question now is whether Najib will continue to lead an “expired government” without Parliamentary dissolution despite the automatic dissolution of the BN-controlledNegriSembilanState Assembly on Tuesday, 26th March.
When the final date for Parliament’s dissolution comes, whether end-March, early-April or even April 11, public interests on the subject will be minimal in Najib’s four-year premiership.
Regardless of when Parliament will be dissolved for the holding of 13GE, Najib should be cautioned against getting so desperate as to succumb to the temptation to commit the grossest abuse of power recommended by the UMNO/BN “Dirty Tricks” department to exclude the use of the Rocket symbol in the 13GE through illegal and unconstitutional suspension or ban of the DAP!
The UMNO/BN “Dirty Tricks” department may think that this ploy will inflict supreme damage on Pakatan Rakyat by excluding the use of the Rocket symbol in the 13GE ( as elections will be over even if DAP finally vindicates itself and wins a legal suit against the Barisan Nasional government in protracted litigation in the courts of law) – but this may prove to be most fatal mistake of all by Najib in his four years as Prime Minister.
This is because it may usher a new political configuration that will prove to be the undoing of UMNO/BN, not only the last straw that breaks the camel’s back with regard to public outrage to demand the end the regime of abuses of power in the citadels of power in Putrajaya, but also contributing to an hitherto unthinkable consolidation of Pakatan Rakyat, as for instance, my contesting on PAS or PKR symbol in the 13GE!
