LIM Guan Eng today said he hopes Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition member Bersatu will stick to the pre-arranged agreement not to admit corrupt Umno members, especially those tainted with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

Lim was responding to questions on Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s call yesterday to Malay-based political parties, including Umno, to join Bersatu so the community could be united and regain its political strength.

He said the issue of Bersatu taking in former Umno members had been discussed by PH before.

While he admitted he has yet to read Dr Mahathir’s statement in full, the DAP secretary-general said it seems Bersatu has kept to its part of the bargain.

“Bersatu has accepted Umno members but not those involved in corruption and 1MDB.”

The finance minister in a media conference in George Town, Penang said Bersatu had in the past used a “cooling-off” period before admitting several Umno MPs into the party.

He also said there are some people Dr Mahathir would never accept as Lim poked fun at two names, former Umno secretary-general and now treasurer Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and former Umno president Najib Razak.

Dr Mahathir in Johor yesterday, called on all Malay parties to join Bersatu, saying the plethora of Malay parties had diminished the chances of the Malay parties to win elections as they have become fragmented.

He said he found more and more Malay parties being formed, which reduced the chances of them winning elections.

“Yes, join Bersatu. When our group is big, we become strong. But don’t stop others from joining the party (Bersatu), let them join.

“If we are split, we become weak, united we stand, divided we fall (bercerai roboh, bersatu teguh). (But) we find that there are people forming new parties, (now) we have become six, soon there will be 10, (then) 100.

“There are 30 people in one party, how to win (elections),” he said after the Johor Bersatu Aidilfitri open house in Johor Jaya yesterday. – July 6, 2019.