Don’t be complacent, Lim warns Pakatan

The chief minister says he will ask all Pakatan parties to submit reports on preparations for the general election.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has cautioned Pakatan Rakyat to view seriously Umno’s boast of 3-3-3-1 winning formula for Barisan Nasional to recapture Penang.

Lim, the DAP secretary-general, is concerned that Umno confidence could be boosted by complacency among Pakatan Rakyat leaders and members.

Observers have speculated that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would call for general election next year.

But Lim, the state Pakatan chairman, is not taking things for granted.

He will ask all Pakatan parties – DAP, PKR and PAS – to submit their respective full report soon on their election preparation.

“Umno may be correct as Penang Pakatan’s machinery is not in full election mode. Pakatan must view Umno’s confidence seriously,” Lim said in a statement here today.

Yesterday, Umno vice-president and Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed confidence on the 3-3-3-1 winning formula. in which Umno would win three seats more while retaining its current 11 state seats in Penang.

MCA and Gerakan will win three seats each while MIC will win one seat to bring BN’s total to 21, enough to knock Pakatan off its perch and recapture the state government by a one-seat majority in the 40-seat State Legislative Assembly.

Lim said Umno’s confidence could arise because the Election Commission (EC) is its obedient tool and it also controls the mainstream media to spread lies against Pakatan.

He said the manipulation of EC to serve BN’s political interests was well-recorded, with top EC officials being exposed as Umno members.

He also took the mainstream media to task for carrying out sustained personal attacks against Pakatan leaders based on racism, and outright lies of corruption and sexual misconduct.

“Even my own family members including my under-aged son have not been spared from such vicious lies,” said Lim, the Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman.

He said Umno is talking about regaining ground among Chinese, Indian and Malay voters because there is now a blackout of Pakatan leaders in all the mainstream media.

For instance, he said some newspapers have refused to publish details of his house tenancy agreement when he revealed it recently in the interests of transparency.

He also said the newspapers did not publish Pakatan’s requests to BN leaders to reveal their tenancy or purchases of luxury homes.

“The blackout will be total come election time,” Lim said.