DAP’s Lim Kit Siang insisted that Najib has yet to atone for the scandals into which he plunged Malaysia. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s call for a political truce must be accompanied by his personal remorse for the damage done to Malaysia, said DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

Commenting on the former prime minister’ appeal for rivals to end their hostilities and move on, the DAP parliamentary leader insisted that Najib has yet to atone for the scandals into which he plunged Malaysia.

“Does Najib think the 14GE was a picnic, with everything back to normal after the hustle and bustle of the hustings?

“Was it a game to transform Malaysia into a global kleptocracy, to make Malaysians whether in the country or in the Malaysian Diaspora worldwide ashamed to admit that they were Malaysians ?” Lim asked in a statement.

The Gelang Patah MP also asked if the former PM would admit to the allegations against him over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), given that the Attorney-General was seeking cooperation with law enforcement in other countries over the corruption scandal.

Lim said Najib must return the “tens of billions of ringgit stolen” from 1MDB before the latter should even broach the topic of healing old wounds.

Beyond 1MDB, the DAP stalwart also accused Najib of employing damaging communal politics on Malaysia in the run up to the 14th general election, citing Umno’s repeated allegations against DAP of being anti-Islam and Malay as an example.

Lim then asked if Umno would demonstrate this contrition at its general assembly later this year, which is customarily the venue for incendiary speeches against rival parties and communities.

Najib has been repeatedly implicated in the 1MDB scandal, which the government is reportedly preparing to charge him over using laws against money-laundering and misappropriation.

Police investigators have seized hundreds of millions in cash and valuables from residences linked to Najib and his family, but the former PM continues to maintain his innocence.