Insane to give failed govt a second chance, says Guan Eng

 

Lim Guan Eng said based on the prime minister’s record of political treachery, there was scepticism whether he would deliver on his promised reforms.

PETALING JAYA: DAP is opposed to giving a failed government a second chance and is very clear on who it supports as the next prime minister, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He asked why Perikatan Nasional should be given a second chance when it had failed badly to manage the nation’s health and economic crises, adding that it was not tenable for such a government to continue ruling the country.

Lim said there was scepticism over the reforms proposed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in his speech yesterday as “it is clearly a gambit for power or stratagem for survival”. It also came at a time when Muhyiddin had clearly lost majority support, he added.

He said institutional reform is not political expediency as shown by the timing of his offer as there must be genuine commitment and even sacrifices to bring forth meaningful progress.

“Based on the prime minister’s record of political treachery and the composition of his conservative Cabinet, that is consistently opposed to reforms of any kind, there is genuine scepticism whether he will deliver on his promised reforms.

“As Albert Einstein has said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,’’ he said in a statement.

DAP, the Bagan MP said, was clear in its choice of the next prime minister, referring to a statement by Pakatan Harapan that urged all opponents of Muhyiddin to back a new government under opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

However, Lim made it clear that the party opposed a general election to resolve the impasse due to the record-high Covid-19 infections and death toll reaching almost 12,000.

During his televised address yesterday, Muhyiddin had proposed a number of reforms should he win September’s vote of confidence in Parliament, including a two-term limit for the prime minister, equal allocations for MPs and an anti-party hopping law.

Lim went on to defend two of his MPs, namely Ong Kian Meng and Tony Pua, for wanting to hear out Muhyiddin’s bipartisan offer.

He said they could not be faulted for being initially attracted to it as they relied on the principle that the end justifies the means, regardless of who initiates them.

“They are not wrong in their idealistic pursuit of institutional reforms.

“However, the nation is dealing with a prime minister who has a history of doing the opposite to remain in power at all cost,” he said.

Yesterday, Ong, who is Bangi MP, and Pua, who is Damansara MP, had initially urged all parties to discuss Muhyiddin’s reform proposals. Their stand met with anger and disappointment from social media users.

Ong promptly thanked everyone for their comments and said he would stand by his party’s decision while Pua has not responded. - FMT