He said these “monstrous lies” had alleged that he was the puppetmaster controlling Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other Cabinet ministers.

Lim said an image was now making the rounds on WhatsApp portraying him as a puppet-master and pulling the strings of PKR, PPBM and Amanah.

Another image shows him lording over Mahathir, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu.

In this image, Lim is pictured as saying that he did not want justice for Malays and did not want them to unite.

The veteran DAP leader claimed that he is being portrayed as the “greatest threat to Malays and Muslims”. On the other hand, he and DAP are also being condemned as having sold out the rights and interests of non-Malays and non-Muslims.

He said he was caught in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

“Malaysia seems to have entered a new phase of toxic and vicious politics of racial and religious hatred, lies and falsehoods.

“If unchecked, this will lead to unprecedented polarisation, division and disunity in plural Malaysia.”

In the past, Umno leaders, including former prime minister Najib Razak, had accused DAP of making use of Mahathir.