Former DAP leader Ong Kian Ming has claimed that DAP and Pakatan Harapan (PH) were desperate for Umno and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) support to form the federal government after the 2022 general election resulted in a hung Parliament.
‘(DAP and PH) even wanted to form an electoral pact with BN for the Johor election,’ Ong, who resigned from DAP earlier this year, said in an Instagram post today.
His comments followed criticism of Umno by DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng last night.
In an FMT video clip shared by Ong, Lim accused Umno of frequently changing its position to suit its political interests.
‘You look at Umno’s statement, one day they’ll say one thing, another day they’ll say another thing. As long as it suits their political purpose,’ Lim said.
The former finance minister also said it was time for Umno to leave the unity government and expressed hope that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would remove the party from his administration.
Lim criticises Umno over Loke’s resignation
Lim was responding to Umno’s criticism of DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook’s resignation as transport minister.
He described Umno as ‘full of contradictions’ and questioned why the party had not raised the matter before Loke’s resignation took effect.
While Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi described Loke as a ‘man of principle’ for keeping his promise to step down, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan accused the DAP leader of disrespecting the king’s power to grant pardons.
Loke announced his resignation in September after former prime minister Najib Razak received a conditional pardon. He said it would take effect once Najib began serving the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest.
PH and BN contested separately in Johor
No single party or coalition secured a simple majority to form the federal government on its own after the 15th general election, leading to the formation of a unity government involving PH, BN, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
BN decided to contest all 56 seats on its own in the Johor state election earlier this year, prompting PH to do the same.
BN won 48 seats, while PH secured eight.
