IT was meant to be a simple return for 76-year-old Lim Kit Siang to Gelang Patah after his month-long medical layoff.

But the night was not lost on him or the more than 1,000 voters who turned out in force to greet the veteran DAP leader’s first public function since an operation to remove a malignant tumour from his left kidney last month.

After a quick introduction by his son and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Kit Siang was feted on stage by PH deputy president Mohamad Sabu, Johor Amanah chief Amirul Huda, Bersatu youth chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, DAP vice-chairman Gobind Singh and Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong.

One of the longest serving MPs in the country, Lim marked the return with a ceramah as the last speaker of the night with his brand of fiery speech.

He started off by saying that Malaysians can write off the 15th general election and the subsequent elections if Barisan Nasional (BN) succeeds in regaining two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Displaying no signs that he was ill a month earlier, Lim said the choice before Malaysians was not Prime Minister Najib Razak or former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, but whether the country will continue on a bad trajectory.

“It is about whether Malaysians should be trapped in the trajectory of a failed and rogue kleptocratic state.

“Or whether we can save the country by resetting nation-building policies based on the fundamental principles of the Malaysian constitution,” said Kit Siang, who did not show any rustiness despite the layoff.

“Najib not only wants to be re-elected in GE14, but to also regain two-thirds parliamentary majority. If Najib succeeds, and regains two-thirds parliamentary majority, Malaysians would have lost the option of democratic change through the electoral process and we can almost write off GE15 and subsequent general elections,” said Kit Siang, who turns 77 next month.

He said the prime minister, who headed 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) when it was alleged to have lost money, would be emboldened if BN regained two-thirds parliamentary control and would make it harder for any opposition to challenge the ruling government.

Before he took to the stage, Kit Siang was surprised by a recorded video message from Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who wished him a quick recovery.

“It’s good to see you’re back to continue our struggle because your voice is still influential,” said the 92-year-old Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman.

“I hope those who turned up tonight for Kit Siang understands that we are a party of people who have experience, with both old and new leaders. It is a combination of new ideas and experience, and I hope you (Kit Siang) will recover quickly,” said Dr Mahathir.

At the start of the ceramah, before Kit Siang’s introduction, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar urged Gelang Patah voters to continue what they had started in GE13.

“Can we finish what we started in GE13? Let us win more seats in Johor. This is your chance and your moment.

“Gelang Patah cannot win for Gelang Patah alone, but win all the other state seats that are contested here,” said Nurul Izzah.

“Let the reform movement begin in Johor and spread to the rest of the country.”  

Kit Siang won the Gelang Patah seat in GE13 with 57.87% of the popular vote when he defeated then mentri besar Abdul Ghani Othman (42.13%), but Pakatan Rakyat could only win one of the two state seats.

DAP’s Boo Cheng How won Skudai but PAS’ Sallahuddin Ayub lost the Nusajaya seat.

Meanwhile, Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, told voters to be wary of the games played by their rivals.

“During the last Umno general assembly, they tried to instil fear into their members by telling them to pick between Najib and Lim (Kit Siang).

“They said ‘if you pick PH, Kit Siang will be PM’. But we have now nominated Dr Mahathir and their game plan has fallen apart,” Mat Sabu told the crowd who cheered whenever they heard Kit Siang and Dr Mahathir’s names being mentioned.

Mat Sabu also made fun of the authorities, who cannot seem to locate 1MDB’s perpetrators but managed to interview Dr Mahathir’s wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, for giving a speech in a rally last year.

Pakatan Harapan kicked off its “100 days towards Putrajaya” campaign with a ceramah starting from the opposition-held seat of Gelang Patah last night.

The offensive against BN will continue in MCA-held territories. After Gelang Patah, PH will venture into “enemy territory” with a string of back-to-back events at the MCA-held constituencies of Ayer Hitam and Bentong.

Bentong is held by MCA president Liow Tiong Lai, who narrowly won the seat in the 2013 elections, while Ayer Hitam is the stronghold of MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong.

PH will launch the Ayer Hitam election centre at 5.30pm today before holding its second pre-GE14 ceramah in Bentong tonight followed by another in Labis on Monday night. – January 27, 2018.