Karpal Singh hit out at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew today for doubting Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) ability to lead Malaysia, saying it was time for the elderly former prime minister to give up the reins of leadership and “quietly ride into the sunset”.
Commenting on Lee’s recently released book “One Man’s View of the World”, the DAP chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP said Lee had every right to give his views but the Singaporean politician should first look at his own party.
“His comment that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will not effectively govern the country had it been successful in winning over federal power is without any basis,” the DAP national chairman said in a press conference here.
Karpal said even though PR has only 89 representatives in Parliament but they are of better quality than the Cabinet under Barisan Nasional.
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“We have not been given a chance or else we can prove it,” he said.
In Lee’s book, he had been scathing about the Malaysian Opposition coalition by labelling it as an “opportunistic ad-hoc group” that was held together only by a “common desire to unseat the government”.
Karpal pointed out that Lee’s own party, PAP, lost six seats in the last general election and the party also lost in the two recent by-elections.
“He should get his own house in order before commenting on others,” Karpal said.
The PAP has been in power in Singapore for more than 50 years and was co-founded by Lee.
The party suffered its worst performance in the 2011 general election where it lost six seats to the opposition, the Workers’ Party, out of 87 parliamentary seats.
Karpal said Lee, the father of current Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, wants to remain as the top voice.
“I think the time has come for him to let others take the lead and that he should quietly ride into the sunset,” he said.
