Statements by two prominent Umno leaders have undermined Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s public apology for BN’s past mistakes, said veteran opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang.

NONELim was referring to statements by Najib’s (right in photo) deputy Muhyiddin Yassin (left in photo) and Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan who are more keen on the next general election rather than enumerating those mistakes and rectifying them.

He said the right thing was for BN to identify the mistakes but Muhyiddin had effectively cut him off yesterday by declaring that the premier had shown “humility” and that “the crucial thing now was to look ahead”.

“As if Muhyiddin’s message was not clear enough, another Umno leader, declared that Umno needs a mandate to fix its mistake - which was an open and public rubbishing of Najib’s apology.

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“It is tantamount to a proclamation that Umno needs not and would not be able to correct its ‘mistakes’ unless BN wins a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the next general election,” said Lim in a statement today.

NONELim said that Muhyiddin and Ahmad’s (left) statements reminded him of how the deputy premier had declared himself as a “Malay first and Malaysian second” and undermined Najib’s 1Malaysia policy.

“Najib’s apology for BN’s past mistakes has again been reduced into a farce by the other Umno leaders led by Muhyiddin.

“This has also been the fate of Najib’s other grandiloquent programmes like the New Economic Model,” said Lim.

Lim said that all is not lost for Najib, as the premier can still spell out BN’s mistakes and provide an undertaking never to repeat them, in order for the public to judge whether he is being sincere in his apology.

Among others, Lim asked whether Najib was referring to graft, cronyism, lack of accountability, deterioration of the judicial system, civil service, police, worsening race and religious polarisation, or the Perak coup in February 2009.

Najib apologised to the people of Selangor in Port Klang on Feb 26, and again to the people of Kedah in Baling on Mar 3, over BN’s past mistakes.

Both states are currently administered by Pakatan Rakyat.


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