KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — Malaysia's youth must put aside their differences and unite to support the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) coalition led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the coming six state elections, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said today.

He said Anwar needs their support so he can be given the time to fix the country, and asked them to convince their friends and family to follow suit for a better future.

"I call on Malaysian youths of all races, religions and regions to unite in the six state polls in August in Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu to unite and convince their parents and their older relatives to make Malaysia a nation of world champions again and avoid the trajectory towards a divided, failed and corrupt state in the coming decades, particularly in 2057 when Malaysia celebrates its Centennial.

"Malaysia can only be great if all Malaysians are united with a common purpose and mission,” he said in a statement.

Lim called on Malaysians to help the nation famous with positive accomplishments like winning the Oscar, Thomas Cup, or an Olympic medal rather than be known globally for corruption and failure.

The former MP said Malaysia had once been a powerhouse but had fallen behind and earned a name for less than desirable things like being ranked 20th globally for Covid-19 deaths at one point.

He urged the youth to advocate for kindness and be the vanguards of progressive politics in the future by being united.

"Let us make Malaysia the role model of the world in inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony as well as show the world how we can prevent lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech from destroying the future of the nation by perpetuating political instability and national disunity,” he added.

The six states are expected to have their polls by August. Kelantan was the first to dissolve its state assembly on June 22 while Selangor did so the following day.

Kedah and Penang are expected to dissolve their respective state assemblies this Wednesday and Negeri Sembilan on Friday. Terengganu has yet to decide.