Kit Siang aware of voters' disappointment, urges them not to lose hope

 

SARAWAK POLLS | DAP veteran lawmaker Lim Kit Siang today acknowledged that voters are still unhappy with Pakatan Harapan's performance during its short stint in government and eventual collapse.

Speaking to reporters in Sibu today, Lim said there was an attempt to change course mid-term but the Harapan administration had collapsed before it could happen.

"I know a lot of people are unhappy about the 22 months of the Harapan government. I am not happy myself because I believed that we could have done better.

"But one must remember Harapan was given five years, not 22 months. Then we were overthrown by unconstitutional and undemocratic means before the term ended.

"I told (then prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad before our first year, in July 2019, that I was concerned if we could fulfil our pledges and he agreed with my suggestion for a review committee on our pledges.

"I was hoping to see him again maybe during the mid-term, but our government collapsed and we were unable to do anything about it," he said.

Lim said this during the press conference unprompted. Voters from several parts of Sarawak have told Malaysiakini during the ongoing campaign period that Harapan was a disappointment.

Lim urged voters not to lose "hope", reminding them that the next Parliamentary election will happen not long after the Sarawak elections.

"We must live with this hope. It is important to spark new hope among Sarawakians and Malaysians that tomorrow will be better. We must hold on to what we have," he said.

During the 2016 Sarawak elections, Pakatan Harapan, then known as Pakatan Rakyat, won 10 seats in the Sarawak legislative assembly.

In 2016, Pakatan Rakyat won 30.16 percent of the vote share. This went up to 43.4 percent in 2018, allowing the opposition to make unprecedented gains in Sarawak due to public discontent over Najib Abdul Razak's administration and the goods and services tax.

When asked what was DAP's electoral objectives for the 2021 Sarawak elections, given it had its theme in the past Sarawak elections was to deny two-thirds to the ruling coalition, Lim was philosophical.

"We need to ensure that we preserve our green hills, then tomorrow will be better," he replied in Chinese.

He urged DAP and Harapan's support base, especially in Sibu, Kuching and Miri, not to lose "hope" on a better Malaysia and continue to support the opposition. - Mkini