Kit Siang: Defiant Ahmad Ismail put pressure on PM to quit earlier

By Wan Hamidi Hamid

Political Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — Penang Umno's backing of Datuk Ahmad Ismail's racist remarks is described by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang as the most critical challenge to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's power transition plan.

"It is even more serious than the defection of support of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his quitting from Umno, as it is a direct challenge to the political and moral authority of Abdullah as Umno president and prime minister, shaking the very basis of his power base in Umno," he said.

He argued that if the Penang Umno example was emulated by other Umno divisions, Abdullah's days as prime minister and Umno president would be numbered, possibly forcing him into an earlier departure than the June 2010 timetable.

Abdullah plans to hand over power by 2010 to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in what is a move to avert a bruising challenge to the Umno top post at the party polls this December.

"Will the leadership of Umno as well as the other Barisan Nasional component parties, particularly MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP take a strong and uncompromising stand to denounce Ahmad's offensive, insensitive and racist reference of the Malaysian Chinese as 'orang tumpang' (squatter)?" Lim said in a statement today.

He also reiterated that Ahmad was guilty of making the racist remarks as the Chinese language press journalists and their editor had stood by their story when reporting the Bukit Bendera Umno division chief's speech during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign on Aug 23.

Ahmad refused to apologise despite Najib's earlier apology on his behalf. According to a press report, one Chinese press reporter who attended confirmed that he heard Ahmad at the ceramah said: "Orang Cina cuma tumpang di sini sahaja" (The Chinese are only squatting here).

Lim said it was unthinkable that Najib would have been prepared to suffer the humiliation of making a public apology on behalf of Ahmad without being sure that Ahmad had uttered the offending term.

"After all, Najib should have first-hand information as Ahmad had made the offending speech in his presence," he added, in reference to the deputy prime minister's role of leading the BN campaign during the by-election.