'Why doesn't Umno Youth query KJ's links to reds?'

The DAP has turned the tables on Umno Youth and the party-owned newspaper Utusan Malaysia over their sincerity in opposing communism.

The party’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, in a statement today, even questioned Umno Youth’s ties to the Communist Party of China.

He questioned why were they silent when Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had on Oct 12, 2009, announced the setting up of a permanent secretariat to strengthen ties between Barisan Nasional Youth and the Communist Youth League of China (CYL).

Khairy had done that in his capacity as BN Youth chief.

“Clearly both Umno Youth and Utusan Malaysia are hypocrites and practise double-standards for failing to ask for action against Khairy for glorifying communism by forming an alliance between BN Youth and CYL,” said Lim.

“Khairy had said that the permanent secretariat would facilitate continuous bilateral programmes to promote a stronger bond between the two entities,” Lim recalled.

“This is not a government-to-government relationship but party-to-party direct linkage. And yet no action is taken when Khairy knowingly, consciously and intentionally establishes a direct linkage through a permanent secretariat with the CYL,” he said.

Lim was referring to Umno Youth exco member Lokman Noor Adam’s (left) statement that the film The New Village glorified the Communist Party of Malaya as heroes while the British colonialists, the army and police are enemies and “bad people” who needed to be destroyed.

Lim asked wh Umno orUtusan Malaysia did not oppose the country forming close  diplomatic relations with communist countries like China, Cuba and Vietnam.

Lim said the two entities never criticised former inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor for signing a peace agreement on behalf of Malaysia with the Communist Party of Malaya on Dec 2, 1989.

“If both are still so worried about communists hiding under our beds, then both need not go very far but should put their sights on Khairy and BN Youth for forging a direct relationship with the CYL,” he added.

‘Recycling 3D tactics’

“Both are relying on their old playbook by recycling the 3D tactics of denial of their own communist links, dirty tactics to scare Malaysians of a communist conspiracy and deception to link non-Malays or opponents of BN with communists,” he added.

Lim said Utusan Malaysia and Umno Youth continued to “play with the fire of racism and  lies to further divide the nation with walls of hatred and fear” by questioning the approval of the film The New Village, which they alleged glorifies communism.

“Such desperate 3D tactics can no longer work because the people do not want to live in the dark,” said Lim.

“The 51 percent popular vote won by Pakatan Rakyat in the recent general election and BN’s loss of the popular vote for the first time in history, proves that people yearn to live in the light with human dignity, integrity, freedom of information, truth, justice and democracy,” he added.

The screening of the film, which was supposed to take place on Aug 22, has been postponed.