PETALING JAYA: DAP secretary-general and former finance minister Lim Guan Eng said if Pakatan Harapan was given five full years to govern, it would definitely fulfil its election pledges such as recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and abolition of highway tolls.

He said PH had at least set up a committee on UEC recognition, and was about to submit the final report to the cabinet in March 2020 when the government was suddenly toppled.

He said during an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily that PH had to deal with the resistance from the institution as well as civil servants during its 22 months in office, adding that it was not easy to undo everything done by Barisan Nasional during their 60 years of rule.

“I believe we could do it if we had five years. But we only had 22 months!”

He said PH had at least managed to cut the toll rate by 18% during those 22 months.

Concerned about Chinese press, education

Lim said his party DAP had always been maintaining good relationship with the local Chinese community and press, including Sin Chew Daily, adding that Chinese newspapers always play a very important role in the country.

“There might be friction now and then, but we still maintain close communication. We may have very different views, but this will not affect our relationship.”

Other than Chinese newspapers, he said DAP was also concerned about the local Chinese community and education.

When asked about the alleged media intervention for his recent suit against a local media company, Lim said it was totally untrue that he had instructed SJKC Kuek Ho Yao to change its name in exchange for RM4 million allocations.

He said it wouldn’t be a problem if things could be resolved through clarification, but if the controversy kept going, he was left with no choice but to take the case to the court.

It’s MCA, not us, that boosted PAS

Lim said MCA, not DAP, was the party that boosted PAS’ acceptance in the local Chinese community.

He stressed that indeed DAP was willing to work with PAS under the leadership of an open-minded and moderate Nik Aziz who would defend the rights of non-Muslims in the country.

But he said after Nik Aziz, PAS became more and more extreme and that’s when DAP decided to sever its ties with the Islamist party.

“What is MCA doing now? They are still supporting it (PAS) in the government!”

When asked whether it is still possible for DAP to work with PAS in future if the party is led by a more moderate leader, Lim said, “No, they have become so extreme now that I don’t think there’s turning back for them.

“PAS has changed. All the moderate leaders left the party and set up Amanah!

“It’s MCA that allowed PAS to be in the government. You should not have done it, but you did!”

When asked of the prospect of working with Umno, Lim said so long as Umno is still involved in the 1MDB scandal and people like Najib and Ahmad Zahid are still in charge, there’s no way for DAP to work with the party.

“We are prepared to sit down and talk for the sake of the country, but if you are involved in 1MDB scandal, I don’t see this possibility.”

He insisted that Umno must change, at least not with Ahmad Zahid and Najib as their leaders.

“We can sit down and talk how to make the country more stable and prosperous, but most importantly the people’s problems need to be resolved.

“How is the government going to tackle the skyrocketing goods prices? We can talk about this if there is a chance. Inflation is very serious now, especially with Russia and Ukraine now at war. It will be much worse six months down the road. Crude oil is already more than $130 per barrel, but does the government have any solution?

“And we still have the problems of high taxes and fines. On these issues, we are ready to sit down and talk with the government for the sake of the country, if it is prepared to take the middle path instead of shouting extreme racist slogans.”

Lim also admitted that it was hard for his party to work with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Parti Pejuang Tanah Air as they don’t share the same aspirations.