In a statement, Takiyuddin said Umno was losing support both within its ranks as well as from the public.
“This situation should be more concerning to Lim, particularly when the Umno leadership is implicated in significant criminal cases that were opposed by DAP itself not long ago,” he said.
“DAP cannot wash its hands, remain silent, or claim not to be involved in the developments related to these circumstances and collisions.”
Takiyuddin was responding to Lim, who recently asked if PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang would step aside for the newly elected MP for Kemaman, Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, to lead the party.
Lim said the Terengganu menteri besar could usher in a “new era” for PAS, more in tune with Malaysia’s current realities and needs.
He also said Samsuri could lead “a PAS which is more moderate and open-minded”, divorcing itself from the “hate speech and lies, falsehoods and fake news” which he said had been identified with the party since it left Pakatan Rakyat in 2015.
In his statement, Takiyuddin also urged Lim not to overlook the fact that Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) had lost 20,000 votes in the Kemaman by-election, compared to the results of the 15th general election (GE15).
BN (38,535) and PH (8,340) won a combined 46,875 votes in Kemaman in GE15. In the Kemaman by-election last Saturday, Samsuri secured a total of 64,998 votes while the BN candidate, Raja Affandi Raja Noor, garnered 27,778 votes – or 19,097 votes less than BN and PH’s combined total in GE15.
“This trend has been evident in all by-elections held after GE15, whether in Terengganu, Johor, or Pahang,” he said.
“Therefore, it would be more beneficial if Lim focused on the internal issues in PH-BN instead of engaging in speculative and unhelpful political manoeuvres.”
Takiyuddin also said that PAS, under Hadi’s leadership, had achieved much and continued to receive support from its members.
“PAS is currently the largest single party with the most seats in Parliament, governing four states and having representatives in all state legislative assemblies in the peninsula,” the Kota Bharu MP said.