PETALING JAYA: Before asking the rakyat to emulate the Japanese, Pakatan Harapan ministers must first follow the example of that country’s leaders who are known to step down after committing blunders, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic).

Dr Wee was commenting on a remark by Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik at an event in Putrajaya on Thursday (Dec 20) where he urged Malaysians to be like the Japanese who are known for their discipline, diligence, integrity and being against corruption.

“It is nice to hear. But is it practised under the Pakatan administration?

“Dr Maszlee said everyone knew the administration under Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is synonymous with the Land of the Rising Sun. But did he know that in Japan, the leaders really look after their honour?” asked Dr Wee on his Facebook page on Thursday night (Dec 20).

He cited the example of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama who resigned on Jun 2, 2010, after just eight months in power, chiefly due to the inability to fulfil the promises made during election campaigns.

“Today, it is already seven months since Pakatan took over the government. The 100 days period has also passed.

"The excuse given was that their manifesto was not the holy book,” wrote Dr Wee.

Dr Wee also noted the case of Japan’s reconstruction minister Masahiro Imamura who resigned on 26 Apr last year for making “slip-ups” in his statement.

“How many times have Pakatan ministers, including Dr Maszlee, slipped up?” questioned Dr Wee, adding that Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada also resigned following a scandal involving her ministry.

“For that reason, since Pakatan is always asking the rakyat to emulate the Japanese, Pakatan ministers must also become like the country’s honourable leaders.

"Do as you say,” said Dr Wee.

He added that the nation was shocked when on Sept 3, just months after Pakatan won the 14th General Election, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng was freed from a corruption charge after the prosecution dropped the case.

Dr Wee also called out DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, who was once highly vocal of Dr Mahathir regarding the Bumiputera Malaysia Finance Limited (BMF) scandal in the 1980s, for being silent on the matter now.

“He published books on the matter. He also brought the issue to Parliament.

"The question is how serious is Kit Siang’s fight? Is Kit Siang a leader with principle and integrity?” asked Dr Wee.