Much has been said about Lim Guan Eng’s corruption and abuse of power charges and the likely consequences of his guilt or innocence on Penang in particular and Malaysia in general.

There is even a call for snap elections just to test LGE’s continued acceptability and popularity among the electorate in Penang.

Of course BN parties, particular Gerakan, MCA and Umno, are also not slow in joining the fray. Various insinuations have been made, including the potential loss of Chinese support for the BN component parties due to Lim’s prosecution in court.

I think politicians have deliberately skewed the debate towards the wrong direction.

As much as DAP is a Chinese-majority party, the support it has gathered is not because of race and religion. The support is about the choice it provides, the governance it is able to institute and the performance it is able to show.

DAP is bigger than LGE. I believe the party will survive regardless of the outcome of Lim’s trial. To me, it is unnecessary to go for snap polls. The people of Penang chose DAP and Pakatan to govern the state, not Lim Guan Eng solely.

DAP does not need to prove anything. The charges against Lim have commenced and unless withdrawn, he must face the consequences regardless of the popularity of the DAP. It is pointless to talk about selective prosecution and unfair charges now. If we do not understand this by now, I think it is too little too late in the day. In this regard, I hope my unflinching call for opposition politicians to adhere to higher standards is not misconstrued.

For DAP, they just have to show their appreciation to the unwavering support as expressed by the people. The spontaneous donation for Lim’s bail is one good indicator. The continuous donation after the initial one million ringgit target was a bigger indicator. So far, not a single assemblyman or woman has expressed any doubt or reservation about Guan Eng’s innocence. Not one of them has expressed his/her desire to defect to the other side.The State Government remains solid.

The DAP should let Gerakan and MCA pass whatever insinuations they want. Ultimately, they should know the support for DAP and Pakatan is not about race or religion. If race is the issue, I think Chinese should support MCA, after all no party in Malaysia is more “Chinese” than MCA.

Similarly for Gerakan, if they think Chinese support for DAP is about race, they should perhaps cease to label themselves a multiracial party. It is definitely more convincing to re-label the Gerakan as a Chinese party if they think the success of the DAP is due to race.

As for Umno, there is no need for the party to rub it in. The Chinese are not being racist when they support the DAP and other Pakatan component parties. The Chinese are also not racist when they support Umno and the BN component parties. The difference is whether the Chinese are well-informed or ignorant, enlightened or stupid, progressive or status-quo bound. Umno should know which is which.

Ah Beng is the pseudonym of an FMT reader.

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