Changing flag not on Pakatan's agenda: Kit Siang

Pakatan Rakyat today moved to dissociate itself from the flag incident during the Janji Demokrasi rally, stressing that changing the national flag has never been part of its plans.

"The change of the national flag is never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and has never been discussed or raised in any Pakatan meeting," said DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang in a statement today.

The comment came after a group of youths brought flags identical to Indonesia's Sang Saka Merah Putih but retaining the Malaysian yellow crescent and star, to the Merdeka celebration at Dataran Merdeka.

BN leaders have since accused the opposition of wanting to change the national flag and intending to institute several other anti-national changes.

"I do not believe that with all the police and intelligence resources at their command, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein could be unaware that there is completely no basis whatsoever in the canard that Pakatan Rakyat wanted to change the national flag," said Lim.

Accusations that Pakatan was disloyal and anti-national including wanting to abolish the monarchy, Lim said, was done out of Umno and BN's desperation of its prospects in the 13th general election.

‘High-powered hatchet job'

"But what was really surprising was this political offensive of lies and falsehoods was so high-powered, as it was not left to the army of Umno and BN cybertroopers.

"It was spearheaded by none other than Najib himself, with three senior Umno ministers - Hishammuddin, Minister for International Trade and Industry Mustapha Mohamed and the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Noh Omar (right) - providing the back-up to mount the attacks on the Pakatan yesterday," he said.

The DAP veteran stressed that the allegation was "cooked up" by Umno's 'dirty-tricks department'.

"The ‘Buku Jingga' on Dec 2010 had reiterated the Pakatan's commitment to uphold the fundamental features in the Malaysian constitution, in particular to defend the role and responsibility of the institution of constitutional monarchy'," he said.

Lim went on to challenge the premier to make good on his "world best democracy" promise by forging a pact with Pakatan to ensure clean polls amid fears that the next general election would be the "dirtiest ever".

"In addition to repeated instances of political corruption, politics in Malaysia has grown increasingly dirty in recent times. There have been increased incidences of personal slandering, distortion of issues and spreading of rumours and lies.

"The ball is in Najib's court. Is he prepared to set an exemplary leadership to ensure clean, free and fair elections or is he going to spearhead the 'dirtiest general election' in the nation's history?" he said.