“I was quite flattered, as for the first time in many months and years, the Umno/BN propagandists forgot their script that I am the ‘dictator of dictators’, not only in DAP but also in Pakatan Harapan,” the Gelang Patah MP said.
He thanked Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak and others for their “ false concerns” and “crocodile tears” in asking if DAP had been sidelined.
He said such remarks were at odds with assertions that DAP leaders dominated PH and that the Malay leaders in PKR, Amanah and PPBM were Lim’s stooges and puppets.
“I can assure Umno/BN leaders that DAP has not been sidelined in Pakatan Harapan,” the DAP parliamentary leader said in a statement today.
Adding that PH had also not become dominated by the Malays, as was also being claimed by certain quarters, Lim said the coalition was in fact dominated by “Malaysians”.
On July 14, Salleh had asked why none of the highest posts in PH went to a DAP leader despite the party having the most number of MPs.
“Is DAP being sidelined or was this an intentional move so that the opposition pact is perceived to be dominated by the Malays?” the former Sabah chief minister said.
The PH presidential council had at its meeting on July 13 announced that PPBM’s Dr Mahathir Mohamad would be PH chairman and PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim would be the coalition’s de facto leader, assuming the very same designations they held in their own parties.
PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was appointed PH president while PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu were made the coalition’s deputy presidents.
Lim today also took Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to task for claiming yesterday that the opposition coalition had shown its desperation to secure Malay votes by having three Malay representatives occupy the highest posts.
Khairy, who is youth and sports minister, said the move was part of the opposition’s strategy to show off that they had representatives from the Malay community upon realising that Malay votes were crucial to win the general election.
He said since DAP had the highest number of parliamentary seats in the opposition pact, it would surely decide on PH’s policies.
Lim dismissed Khairy’s claim as “utter bunkum”, saying the PH component parties were equals and there was no “political hegemony” like Umno apparently exercised in BN.
“There must be consensus and agreement by all the four constituent PH parties before a policy could become PH policy,” he said.
He added that no one political party could unilaterally impose its will and policy in the way Umno had done in BN.