The public proposal by DAP national chairperson, Lim Kit Siang on the formation of a new opposition front is, to me, not a sincere, serious, productive and well-articulated idea. It is meant more to score points against Keadilan and PRM and to weaken BA than a sincere and serious effort for opposition cooperation.

In my opinion, when Lim made that proposal, he did not even expect Keadilan/PRM to agree with it. In fact, that is exactly what Lim intended so that he and his party machinery could argue that only DAP is 'serious' and 'reliable' in defence of what some call 'secularism'.

However, the basis of that argument is false.

There is simply no threat of the Constitution of Malaysia being overthrown by any fundamentalists. In fact, the greatest threat is the anti-democratic Umno.

DAP and Lim Kit Siang seem to have secretly decided to support Umno in its attempt to crush or weaken Malay/Muslim opposition so that it could prosper, without Umno's tacit approval, in the Chinese predominant constituencies at the expense of MCA and Gerakan.

Umno knows DAP has no intention, plan, strategy or capacity to become an alternative government. All DAP wants is about 20 to 25 seats in parliament to play the role of window-dressing opposition.

Moreover, there is no sign showing that the proposal made by Lim in London has been discussed or officially endorsed by the DAP as a whole. Normally, such an important subject should first be debated, discussed and formally approved as party policy.

How could Lim expect Keadilan/PRM to agree or disagree with his proposal when it is not even an official stand of DAP? And where are the details? Where are the concrete proposals besides a few rhetorical slogans as contained in Lim's speech in London?

DAP must be honest to itself and to others. How can DAP, without any positive and consistent principle like PRM or mass-based Keadilan expect them to accept it as the leader of the new front? What can DAP contribute to the new front with its limited and unspecified number of membership, and questionable principle?

Moreover, if DAP itself cannot even be at peace with many of its own leaders who quit the party - openly or quietly - in the last few years, how can others, like Keadilan and PRM trust DAP and look to it for sincerity, magnanimity, meritocracy, justice, fair play, consistency and principled commitment to a cause?

In short, there is only one way DAP can redeem itself: be honest and sincere to itself and others so that it is no longer opportunistic. And this can only be done many years later when Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh are no longer around.

Meanwhile, Keadilan and PRM should stick to BA and continue to transform themselves into a mass-based multi-ethnic party that caters for the younger generation of Malays/Muslims, Chinese, Indian, Sikhs, Ibans and Kadazans who do not want to accept paternal authoritarianism, whether from Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno, or Lim Kit Siang and DAP.