Commenting on reports that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) president Muhyiddin Yassin wanted a change of name for the opposition coalition, and for it to be Malay-based, Lim said he would first need to confirm if these reports were true.
He pointed out that the PH presidential council had last met on March 20 when it unanimously accepted PPBM’s application to become a member of the coalition.
“We have not had a meeting since then,” Lim said. “I need confirmation if this report (on Muhyiddin’s comment) is true or false.
“They (PPBM) have just been accepted (into the coalition),” he added. “We have not had a meeting yet (after the last meeting).”
“So let us ensure that this report is not a ploy by the Barisan Nasional (BN) media to put us at loggerheads,” the Penang chief minister said after an event in his state constituency of Air Puteh here.
He also stressed that PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail remained the head of PH.
“Pakatan now has an opposition head, Wan Azizah. There is no change to what has been decided before.”
Astro Awani reported that PPBM gave the impression at its rally in Padang Rengas last night that it wanted to be the main party to support PH’s cause.
It quoted Muhyiddin as telling the gathering that the most important thing was to ensure that the “new coalition” was Malay-based and that PPBM be made as among the main parties to support its struggle.
“We would like this movement pioneered by the opposition to be an organisation headed by Malays,” he was quoted by Astro Awani in its report today.
“Its majority is Malay, but the other parties united in Pakatan Harapan will become a part of our family. This is important for the people to be convinced (in PH),” he said.
Muhyiddin also said if all the leaders in PH were in agreement, the current opposition coalition should change its name to Barisan Rakyat.
He was reported by Malaysiakini as saying that a Malay-based opposition coalition called Barisan Rakyat would be the best way to win the next general election against the ruling Barisan Nasional.
PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad meanwhile has proposed that the coalition change its name, create a common logo as well as a symbol and election manifesto.
At its meeting on March 20, the PH presidential council also agreed on having the coalition officially registered, and for immediate discussions among all four parties – PKR, DAP, Amanah and PPBM – to produce a collective manifesto and create a new logo.
A joint statement on the outcome of the meeting was later issued by Wan Azizah, Lim and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.
On another matter, Lim criticised minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Abdul Rahman Dahlan for defending Umno information chief Annuar Musa’s plan to launch a contest for best essay or social media posting on the subject “LKS (Lim Kit Siang) is a racist, anti-Islam and a dictator for 51 years, is it true?”
Rahman said yesterday this was Annuar’s way to expose to the public DAP veteran Kit Siang’s character over the last 51 years, which he claimed was racist and anti-Islamic, among other things.
“I would also like to condemn Rahman for painting Kit Siang, the DAP parliamentary leader, as being anti-Islam although he cannot show any proof,” Lim said.
“Such labelling is very divisive, and also provocative and inflammatory. In fact, there is greater and more valid grounds to call Rahman anti-Christian for remarks he has made against the Christian community.”