By Admin
They've never dared to contest in non-Chinese areas and don't deserve the 'heavyweight' label, says a former party vice president.
GEORGE TOWN: DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Karpal Singh are chicken-hearted and do not deserve the label “heavyweight” often attached to their names, according to former party vice chairman Zulkifli Mohd Noor.
He said they had never dared to contest for election in areas where Chinese voters do not form the majority, preferring to send other members of the party to be sacrificed in the tough constituencies.
“The public thinks these so-called heavyweights dare to fight against anyone, for anyone and with anyone,” Zukifli told FMT here today.
The truth, he said, was that they were “cocks that dare to crow only in their own backyards.”
In contrast, he added, he had contested in Chinese, non-Chinese and mixed constituencies against Barisan Nasional heavyweights in three general elections.
Last month, Zukifli quit his party positions as Bayan Baru parliamentary liaison committee head and Penang DAP committee member as well as his jobs in Penang state agencies.
“These so-called heavyweights have never dared to test their strength in new ground,” he said. “Unlike me and several others, they have never dared to venture into non-Chinese majority areas, not even mixed areas.
“They only choose safe Chinese seats. They dare not lose. They always sacrifice others to safeguard their own selfish political interests.”
He alleged that the preference of the three for Chinese-majority seats also reflected a racist political mentality.
“If they are really Malaysian Malaysia heavyweights, they should contest for seats like Cameron Highlands, Balik Pulau or Kulim-Bandar Bahru.”
‘No safe seats for me’
Zulkifli contested and lost marginally in the Malay-majority state seat of Bayan Lepas in 1995 against Lim Chien Aun, the son of former Penang Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu. In 1999, he lost in the mixed parliamentary constituency of Bayan Baru against then Penang MCA chairman Wong Kam Hoong. He lost again in 2004, when he contested against then Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye for the federal seat of Bukit Bendera.
Karpal has contested in Penang in the Chinese-majority Jelutong and Bukit Gelugor federal seats and the state seats of Bukit Gelugor, Sungai Pinang, Datuk Keramat and Padang Kota.
Kit Siang has contested in the federal constituencies of Bandar Melaka, Kota Melaka, Petaling, Tanjung, Bukit Bendera, Ipoh Timur and Gelang Patah and for the state seats of Kubu, Kampung Kolam, Tanjung Bungah and Kebun Bunga state seats.
Guan Eng has contested in the Kota Melaka and Bagan federal constituencies and the Air Putih state seat.
“If the DAP had really wanted a Malay elected representative in the party, they should have given me safer seats,” Zulkifli said.
Zulkifli remains a life member of the party. He said he had decided to quit his posts because the DAP was no longer the party that he joined 26 years ago.
He said electoral successes in 2008 and 2013 had gone to the head of many party leaders.
He alleged that DAP had changed from being a socialist-democratic outfit to a capitalist-authoritarian party.
“From eating in roadside stalls, the leaders now dine in five-, six- and seven-star hotels.
“We used call each other ‘saudara’ (brother or sister), but now these leaders must be addressed as Yang Berhormat (The Honourable).
“They have no time to hear the cries of poor. They prefer the laughter of the rich and the elite.” fmt
No comments:
Post a Comment