"Mahathir has come full circle, from an ultra, back again to an ultra – repudiating Bangsa Malaysia and Vision 2020 which he enunciated in 1991. This is the greatest tragedy," said Lim in his immediate reaction to Perkasa's launch Saturday by the former UMNO president.

Earlier today, independent MP Ibrahim Ali, a Mahathir loyalist during the Anwar Ibrahim saga in the late nineties, launched an attack on opposition parties and the Chinese community leaders' demands for greater opportunities in education and business.

Ibrahim, who was recently angered over revelations in the media about his links to a company involved in gambling, also chided UMNO youth chief and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaludin for reportedly deriding the new group, and praised Dr Mahathir Mohamad and UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia, adorning the former with an award.

But his strongest words were reserved for the DAP as well as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, claiming that the former's "Malaysian Malaysia" concept was designed to abolish the Malay rulers.

Lim however dismissed Perkasa as a group "anchored in a hankering for the past, oblivious of 52-years of nation- building," adding that its struggle only exploited the name of the bumiputeras in order to continue the abuses of the New Economic Policy.

"From the incendiary speech of the Perkasa President, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, it is clear that Perkasa is built on stilts of lies," said Lim, denying Ibrahim's claim that the May 13 riots were caused among others by the "Malaysian Malaysia" slogan.

Lim also revealed that the Perkasa leader had sought his help when he was a student leader.

"In the seventies, Ibrahim frantically sought my help as Parliamentary Opposition Leader when he was trying to escape detention under the Internal Security Act for his activities as a student leader. Why sought my help if DAP leaders were so anti-national and disloyal as he now wants to depict?"

However, Lim downplayed Ibrahim's importance, saying he was more concerned with Mahathir's patronage for the group.