(The Malaysian Insider) - Lim Guan Eng today called on Datuk Seri Najib Razak to take responsibility for Perkasa’s words and deeds after openly backing the right-wing Malay group.

The DAP leader said that having the prime minister’s wife grace Perkasa’s fund-raiser last Saturday shows that Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) government and its lynchpin party, Umno, endorses everything the Malay group says and does.

The Bagan MP added that Perkasa’s founder-president, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, had last Saturday openly pledged his group’s support of Najib and his administration’s policies, adding that that he was “in awe of (Datin Seri) Rosmah (Mansor’s) leadership”.

“Najib is playing a dangerous game by supporting and sponsoring Perkasa while at the same time supposedly promoting moderation and national unity through his empty 1 Malaysia slogan,” Lim said in a statement today.

Citing Ibrahim, the DAP secretary-general claimed that Najib had said, “I am also a politician ... The Malays are split (so) I have to play this game”.

He reminded the PM of Ibrahim’s provocative actions and statements in the past one year, from offering to fight a “crusade” against Christians and torching a picture of Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and labelling her a “dangerous Hindu woman”, to warning the Chinese against taking part in the mammoth July 9 rally because “anything can happen”.

Lim also highlighted that “no action whatsoever has been taken by the Barisan Nasional government to moderate Perkasa’s extremist rhetoric”.

He further warned the PM that he risked losing support from the centre with his open backing of Perkasa.

“All Malaysians who value moderation must be very worried indeed when Perkasa declares itself to be in full support of all the Barisan Nasional government’s policies,” said Lim, who is also Penang chief minister.