DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang says Najib’s “meek” response to Utusan Malaysia ’s '1Melayu, 1Bumi' call showed that the Umno chief has no authority within his own party, likening the PM to his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

teoh beng hock memorial night 160710 kit siang “The question many are asking is whether Prime Minister Najib Razak is becoming another Pak Lah (Abdullah), the fifth prime minister whose writ did not run in Umno although he was also Umno president, ending in his ignominious exit as Umno chief and prime minister,” said Lim ( left ) in a statement today.

“This question has become more pronounced after Najib’s meek and completely unacceptable stance over Utusan Malaysia ’s '1Melayu, 1Bumi',” said Lim.

He slammed the PM for the “tame excuse” that the racist statement published in the Umno-owned daily was a “personal opinion of the writer concerned”.

Lim added that Utusan ’s call was “tantamount to an open slap in the face of the prime minister’s signature concept” - the much-bandied about 1Malaysia.

The DAP veteran said Najib’s excuse was unacceptable particularly because the Malay daily is the “official organ of Umno, whose columns represent the mainstream opinion and demands of the Umno leadership in government”.

NONE On Wednesday, Utusan assistant editor-in-chief Zaini Hassan ( left ) in his column 'Cuit' called on Malay parties and NGOs to unite under a '1Melayu, 1Bumi' banner to strengthen the community.

Zaini wrote that this was in response to DAP's 'success' in uniting the Chinese that resulted in the opposition party’s windfall in the Sarawak state election on April 16.

Double standards

Lim blasted the cabinet for its silence on Utusan ’s call, that he said was “irresponsible, seditious and a subtle attempt to sabotage Najib’s 1Malaysia policy”.

If it were a Chinese newspaper that had called for a ‘1Chinese’ campaign, said Lim, the paper would suffer the “full weight” of the law and be closed down, with its editors and journalists slapped with sedition charges.

“Why the double standards in the case of Utusan Malaysia ?” he asked.

He said the PM as party president should rightfully come down hard on the paper, and “revamp” it to prevent it from subverting the government with its “anti-national campaign”.

“If the cabinet is silent on Utusan Malaysia ’s ‘1Melayu, 1Bumi’, it could only mean that Najib’s 1Malaysia policy is sheer hypocrisy and chicanery costing Malaysian taxpayers RM70 million for Apco to package it as the greatest gift by Najib to Malaysians,” said Lim.

Lim’s comrade-in-arms Karpal Singh added in a statement that Utusan ’s call amounted to sedition and it was regrettable that the PM had closed an eye to it.

“It has a seditious tendency within the parameters of section 3(1)(e) of the Sedition Act, 1948 as it promotes feelings of ill-will and hostility between the different races in the country and, therefore, amounts to an offence under section 4(1)(b)...

“It is a matter of great regret and concern that the prime minister ... had dismissed what is clearly an offence,” said Karpal.