PETALING JAYA: There is no need to call for Umno’s deregistration as the party is on the path of self-destruction, according to DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang (pix).

The Iskandar Puteri MP said the government should act magnanimously and give the Opposition party ample time to rectify its wrongdoings.

“In a democracy, let voters decide whether a political party should be dumped into the rubbish bin.

“Don’t deregister Umno but let it self-destruct and Umno is in an advanced stage of self-destruction as it seeks to launch a campaign for klepto-theocracy with PAS,” he said in a statement today.

He also recalled DAP’s five-year problem between 2013 and 2018 with the threat of deregistration ahead of the general elections during the Najib administration.

“For five years from 2013 to 2018, based on trumped-up charges, DAP was on the razor’s edge as the kitchen cabinet of the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, weighed the pros and cons of illegally deregistering DAP,” he said.

However, he does not wish the same on another party, even if it was an opposition party.

“Revenge and vendetta have no place in politics, and I do not wish on Umno leaders and members the ‘death sentence’ ordeal which DAP leaders and members had suffered for five years before the 14th General Election,” he added.

Kit Siang is the second DAP MP to urge the government not to deregister Umno due to alleged irregularities in its party affairs.

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng made the first call yesterday, in response to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s comment on why the relevant authorities have yet to investigate and take action against Umno.