PADANG SERAI: Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders yesterday urged the people not to be misled by Opposition parties’ tricks, in particular the DAP’s, which incites hatred towards the government for the sake of their political survival.

In a political rally at Taman Kucai in Lunas yesterday evening, the leaders appealed to the rakyat not to risk the country’s future by gambling with the unity enjoyed by Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society, which had been developed for decades.

They said opposition leaders constantly dismiss the BN-led government’s proven contributions towards building the nation and uniting the rakyat.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz said opposition parties are prone to twisting facts to incite the people’s hatred towards the government due to their jealousy towards BN’s achievements.

“They are practicing the politics of hate, and playing up racial issues. The rakyat must be wise enough not to be hoodwinked by the sentiment played by opposition leaders,” he said in addressing the crowd at the “Ceramah Rakyat: Negaraku Generasiku” rally.

MyPPP deputy president, who is also Federal Territories deputy minister, Datuk M Loga Bala, said the opposition is trying to fish for easy votes by inciting hatred towards BN.

“Malaysia will not be where we are today without BN’s ability to unite all the ethnic groups in this country. Only through unity, can we continue with development programmes. But sadly, opposition parties are just inciting hatred for the sake of winning votes,” he said.

Gerakan deputy president Datuk Dr Cheah Soon Hai hit out at the DAP, claiming that the party has no principles, and makes all sorts of baseless allegations.

“The DAP, which is led by Lim Kit Siang, only knows how to incite the people’s hatred towards BN so that the people would vote for them.

“Kit Siang has been telling the people that Malaysia is going bankrupt, but it has been 40 years now and Malaysia is still developing well,” he said.

His sentiment was echoed by Kedah MCA deputy chairman Datuk Dr Leong Yong Kong, who alleged that the DAP is willing to risk the country’s peace and unity for the sake of achieving its political goals.

“The opposition, including DAP, are just a bunch of people who want to incite hatred. Their struggle is not for the country, but merely to fulfil their agenda to rule this country,” he said.

MIC deputy president, who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri SK Devamany, slammed the opposition for spreading all sorts of lies about the country – but their efforts have proved futile, as the country is enjoying development under BN’s leadership.

“We need a professional opposition, not those who are only good at spreading false information and inciting hatred among the people,” he said.

MIC vice president and Kedah MIC chairman Datuk Jaspal Singh said unlike BN, which always places the people’s unity above anything else, the opposition is only widening the split among the country’s multi-ethnic society.

“By splitting the people, the opposition wishes to rise to power, and this is what they have been doing – by inciting hatred towards BN,” he said.