DAP strongman Lim
Kit Siang has challenged former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to
contest against him in Gelang Patah, Johore.
Lim threw the
challenge when he learnt that Dr Mahathir had gone to Gelang Patah to give
talks to the voters there upon knowing that he is going to contest the
parliament seat there.
Lim and Dr
Mahathir has been on a political war path some 30 years or so but they have not
face-off with each other as both have different sets of influence and
supporters.
Lim is sectorial
and that if he is to contest in a Malay majority seat, he may see his political
career thrown down the drain while Dr Mahathir’s support comes from Malays and
he may end up a loser if he contests in Chinese majority seats.
Lim’s challenge
can be ‘considered’ as political gimmick, similarly if Dr Mahathir is to
challenge Lim to contest in Kubang Pasu, Kedah as both will not meet on a
neutral ground where the number of Malay and Chinese voters are equal or
something of that configuration.
So the challenge
is just a gimmick to heat up the pre-campaign trail as both sides of the
political divide go on a vigorous and vicious routine that even saw fights
between supporters.
For Lim and the
DAP, winning a parliamentary seat in Johore is a moral booster as the Malay
saying goes ‘bolos jarum, bolos la benang’ which means if the needle can go
through then the thread will easily follow’.
For Lim and DAP,
winning even just one parliamentary seat in a Malay dominated state as Johore
reflects a victory in penetrating a Malay and Umno heartland which can be
translated as the Malays are no longer united in supporting Umno and BN.
And for Lim, that
also means to hurt Dr Mahathir emotionally and politically as the latter had
build Umno and BN so strong to the extent that there was not much opposition
when developing the country.
For 22 years Dr
Mahathir enjoyed developing the country with Lim ‘barking’ without much effect
and the Chinesse community continue to enjoy benefits without even being
affected by the bumiputras quota.
But after March
2008 general election, the political landscape changes and everything else
changed too where issues are no longer on development per se but contain racial
undertones and smack religious innuendo.
For Dr Mahathir,
defending Johore and the Malay heartland is deem a well worth struggle since he
intends to bury Lim’s political career as well as the man he had trained so
hard – Anwar Ibrahim.
Dr Mahathir’s
‘battle’ this time is not just winning as a non-partisan because he is not
contesting but also to see the two men ‘politically buried’ if he can.
And Lim’s
challenge may backfire if Dr Mahathir reciprocates seriously
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