Talk by DAP Organising Secretary Mr. Lim Kit Siang, at a public meeting at the Balai Ra’ayat at Kampong Coldstream organised by the Tapah DAP Branch on Saturday, 29th June 1968 at 8 p.m.
For the first time in the history of our country, there is a national political movement which stands for cultural democracy for the people of Malaysia. This is the Democratic Action Party.
By cultural democracy, we mean the full and free flowering and growth of all cultures and languages in Malaysia. We believe Malaysian culture should come about through the free and equal interaction and interchange of the various cultural streams in the country, and not through the imposition of one culture over the others.
We are convinced that unless the principle of cultural democracy is accepted and practiced in Malaysia, there will be no Malaysian consciousness and identity.
Sad to say, eleven years of Alliance rule had not fostered cultural democracy. On the contrary, the Alliance and the MCA are the arch-enemies of cultural democracy.
We challenge the Alliance and the MCA to answer six questions:
1. Do they support granting official status Chinese, Tamil and English?
2. Do they support the use of Chinese and Tamil as media of instruction and examination in primary and secondary schools?
3. Do they support the use of Chinese or Tamil by Malaysians during their visits to government offices, instead of being shouted at, abused and humiliated as they are now, if they don’t speak or understand Malay?
4. Do they support the use of Chinese, Tamil and English in the Parliament and the State Assemblies?
5. Do they support recognising Nanyang and Formosan university qualifications?
6. Do they support Merdeka University, as the sponsors have made it very clear that it would be a multi-lingual and multi-racial Malaysian-oriented University?
In a multi-racial and multi-cultural society like Malaysia, there can be no true democracy unless there is cultural freedom and equality.
We invite the Alliance and the MCA leaders to explain how they think they can build a united Malaysian nation without cultural democracy. We invited them to explain why they are opposed cultural democracy!
Audited on 2021-03-19