'Was I being overdramatic?' Kit Siang defends May 13 warning

DAP's Lim Kit Siang has defended his claim that Malaysia is currently on the verge of racial riots, hours after several Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders criticised the veteran politician, accusing him of provocations.

"Was I being overdramatic when I said yesterday that 'After 54 years, Malaysia is teetering on the edge of another May 13, 1969 riots?'" he asked, referring to his statement.

"Let us think back to the days of May 11, 12 and 13, 1969. Did anybody expect the May 13, 1969 riots to erupt?"

He said that had he known that the 1969 riots "were being planned and going to erupt", he would not have held a victory rally on May 12 in Melaka.

"But this is to be wise after the event.

"In view of the May 13, 1969 riots, all political parties and candidates for the forthcoming six state polls on Aug 12 should lower the temperature on racial and religious polarisation and stop exploiting the 3R issues," Lim said.

Yesterday, Lim, in a statement defending the sedition prosecution against Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, said Malaysia's race relations had slipped further and that the country was moving towards a repeat of the 1969 riots.

The remarks drew criticism from two PN leaders, who questioned his motive for bringing up the incident.

Bersatu's Shah Alam division deputy chief Dr Afif Bahardin said Malaysians of all races have been living peacefully.

"May 13 has never arisen. Why does Kit Siang say such things? Why bring this up ahead of elections?" he asked at a ceramah last night.

Meanwhile, former minister Annuar Musa, who recently joined PAS, said it was unnecessary for Lim to talk about the May 13 riots.

"Can this be allowed? The situation is generally peaceful. There are no racial sentiments, as were played up in some quarters before and after May 13, 1969.

"There are no parades such as the 1969 parade carrying the corpse of the 'red warrior'," Annuar wrote on Facebook, referring to a pro-communist rally in Kuala Lumpur on the eve of the 1969 general election, where participants carried racially charged banners.

Annuar said the provocateurs today have shifted their tactic.

"The strategy these days is to divide and rule; hence, such provocations are being thrown," he added.

Meanwhile, Lim again denied accusations that he was guilty of causing the May 13 riots, which saw violence between ethnic Malays and Chinese in the aftermath of the 1969 general election.

He listed eight principles, which he said should be the basis for Malaysia "to undergo a reset and return to the original nation-building principles of a plural Malaysia".

"Nobody is asking a Malaysian to cease to be a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban or Kadazan or Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Taoist or Sikkhist, but we must be Malaysian first and our ethnic, religious or regional identity second," he added.