GEORGE TOWN: DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng says the constant attacks by Barisan Nasional (BN) on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad show the governing coalition is genuinely worried about a possible opposition victory in the 14th general election (GE14).
He said Pakatan Harapan (PH) had picked PPBM chairman Mahathir as its prime minister candidate not just to create jitters among BN but also as a necessary measure to enable its reform agenda to be implemented if it takes power.
He said the 92-year-old elder statesman’s experience in governance and his determination to defeat Umno made him the best bet to lead the opposition in the polls.
Lim said Mahathir had a wealth of experience, having ruled the country for 22 years till 2003, and know-how on the inner workings of the government, making PH’s takeover of Putrajaya smooth in the event of a victory.
He said a good example of Mahathir’s acumen was when he helped the country weather economic turmoil.
“No matter how bad the economic situation was, Mahathir never implemented the GST (goods and services tax)… but Prime Minister Najib Razak did,” he said, referring to the tax imposed at a rate of 6% in April 2015.
“If Najib wins again, the GST will not only be retained, but will be increased,” he claimed, adding that the worldwide trend was to increase the tax, not reduce or abolish it.
“In order to wipe out GST, you will have to support the opposition and Mahathir,” he said when speaking to reporters at an event at the Han Chiang School here today.
Lim said PH was also confident with the combination of Mahathir and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as the deputy prime minister candidate, in the coming polls.
He said Pakatan component parties had been given explanations about the decision to select the two leaders for the greater good.
He said Mahathir also took a firm stance against PAS. “For him, if you are willing to cooperate with Umno, then there is no point wasting time (working with PAS),” he said.
“And this is what people want to see — decisive action. He dares to stand up to PAS for cooperating with Umno,” Lim said.
On Jan 7, PH had announced at its convention that Mahathir would serve as prime minister while all legal avenues would be undertaken to free PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim from prison where he is serving a five-year jail term for a sodomy conviction.
The coalition said this would pave the way for Anwar to be the country’s eighth prime minister.Anwar is scheduled for release on June 8. --FMT
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