KOTA KINABALU, Nov 1 — Malaysians must keep in mind that they will be choosing their next prime minister when they cast their ballots in the November 19 general election, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said today.

He called on voters to back Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be Malaysia’s 10th prime minister, saying the Pakatan Harapan nominee is the only candidate who has shown his commitment to Ketuanan Malaysia instead of Ketuanan Melayu.

"Of the four candidates for the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, only Anwar is committed to make Malaysia a great world-class plural nation by implementing a Ketuanan Malaysia instead of a Ketuanan Melayu policy.

"Anwar is ‘Malaysian first’ and all political leaders in a great world-class Malaysian nation must be ‘Malaysian first’,” Lim said in a speech while in Kinarut campaigning for DAP’s candidate for the Papar seat, Henry Shim.

His text speech was also made available to the media in a statement.

The incumbent Iskandar Puteri MP claimed that the Ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy policy being promoted by Umno to be a camouflage for party elites to make themselves wealthy and privileged while other Malays and Bumiputera continue to be poor and backward.

"It is contrary to the original nation-building principles of Malaysia that every citizen in Malaysia, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Dayaks, are equal Malaysian citizens and that there is no first-class, second-class or third-class citizens,” he said.

According to Lim, the leaders of the three main Malay political parties — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang — are responsible for Malaysia’s deterioration from a promising powerhouse to mediocrity.

"In 1965, one Malaysian ringgit was equal to one Singapore dollar. Today, one Singapore dollar is equal to 3.345 Malaysian ringgit.

"If this is not the mark of Malaysia’s decline, I do not know the meaning of ‘decline’,” Lim said.

He claimed the worst thing to Malaysia’s reputation would be if convicted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak were released from prison without serving the full 12-year jail sentence and pay the RM210 million fine for embezzling funds from government investment firm SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Lim did not end there but also took a swipe at former PH ally Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, whose Parti Warisan, has just announced its 26 parliamentary election candidates in peninsular Malaysia.

"I only hope that Warisan’s adventure in GE15 in peninsular Malaysia will not be like their outing in the Johor state general election, where it fielded six candidates and all six lost their deposits,” he said.