DAP too had 'unholy pact' with PAS before, says MCA's Ti

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang's allegation that MCA was in an "unholy alliance" with PAS and Umno is hypocritical because DAP had allied with PAS numerous times, said MCA spokesperson Ti Lian Ker.

Ti pointed out that DAP had allied with PAS since the Gagasan Rakyat days in the 1990s and again during the reformasi era and later through Pakatan Rakyat.

"It was DAP who formed a joint government with PAS in Perak, Penang and Selangor (in 2008).

"If there's any unholy pact, it is DAP who has continued to form a joint government with PAS in Selangor despite officially breaking off at the national level," said Ti in a statement today.

A day before the recent Balakong by-election, Lim had lashed out at MCA for recruiting PAS for their campaign efforts. Lim postulated that MCA did so in an effort to avoid losing their deposit.

The election saw MCA narrowly avoiding that scenario by securing 14.9 percent of the votes cast. An election candidate needs to secure at least 12.5 percent of the total votes cast to avoid losing his or her deposit.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan (photo) said his party had decided to help MCA because they were both the opposition in Selangor.

MCA 'moderated' Dr M

Meanwhile, Ti blamed Lim for "pushing" Umno and PAS to the far right thereby endangering the country.

He argued that "extreme" nationalism and xenophobia could lead to violence against minorities and warned that it would be "potentially explosive" if Umno and PAS decided to retaliate against DAP for harping on Chinese sentiments.

"In a democracy, a two-thirds support is deemed absolute. For DAP to obtain more than two-thirds and about 90 percent of Chinese votes is seen as to be extreme and radical.

"The majority of the Malays are still voting for Umno and PAS. The overwhelming support of the Chinese for DAP is primarily attributed to DAP playing up Chinese dissatisfaction over an unequal playing field in education, business and governance," said Ti.

Ti said MCA, unlike DAP, had succeeded in moderating perceived extremists in the past, citing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as an example.

"(In the past) DAP called (Mahathir) a radical, extremist and a racist. MCA is proud to have moderated his alleged racist tendencies for 22 years when he helmed the country and took a toll on the compromises we made," claimed Ti. - Mkini