KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — DAP lawmaker Howard Lee today accused Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of playing "dirty" by attempting to spin Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's statement regarding Beijing's South China Sea claim as a compromise.

Lee, MP for Ipoh Timur, said Muhyiddin knew well as a former prime minister that international relations can be complex, and that the latter himself was mostly silent about the territorial dispute with China.

Muhyiddin had also signed the joint development agreement to develop the South China Sea with Beijing, Lee noted, and claimed that the former prime minister at the time did not voice out against the Asian superpower during negotiations leading up to the agreement.

"When dealing with superpowers, language of diplomacy is crucial to ensure harmonious ties can be maintained. I am certain Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former prime minister who has vast political experience, is wise, smart and clever.

"But sadly Muhyiddin is now the head of the opposition horde Perikatan Nasional which only knows how to play dirty politics. Just for a shred of vote, he has gambled with national security, embarrassed Malaysia, sabotaged bilateral relations between our country and China, as well as circumventing Asean efforts to maintain peace in the region," he said.

Muhyiddin claimed Anwar was "careless” in his remarks on the possibility of Malaysia being open to negotiations if there are overlapping claims by China on areas explored by national oil giant Petronas, former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

Muhyiddin, chairman of the opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional, said Malaysia must defend its sovereignty even if China is making any claims on the country’s territories.

The former prime minister claimed Anwar’s parliamentary remarks on Tuesday in the Dewan Rakyat had the implication of indirectly acknowledging China’s claim on areas that are legitimately Malaysia’s territory and which Malaysia must defend.

The criticism was published on Muhyiddin's Facebook page, which Lee described as cowardly as he cited Muhyiddin's continued absence during Prime Minister's Question Time. Lee said Muhyiddin could have used the sessions as the platform to question or debate Anwar directly about the issue, but failed to.

"What makes (him) worse is that Muhyiddin only issued the statement on Facebook but was cowardly to face the prime minister in Parliament. In fact Muhyiddin is among the frequent absentee MPs," he said.

On April 4, Anwar was reported saying that he had told China that Petronas’s exploration of an area - which is also claimed by China - is viewed by Malaysia to be Malaysian territory and that Petronas would continue its activity there, but said Malaysia is open for negotiations if China feels that area is their right.