Serdang by-election a test for the cause of multi-racialism

The DAP Organising Secretary and DAP Candidate for the Serdang State by-election (Selangor), Mr. Lim Kit Siang, today (28.11.68) issued the following statement after Nomination:

The Serdang State by-election is a test for the cause of multi-racialism and a Malaysian Malaysia.

Since independence, the forces of racialism and cultural and language chauvinism, as represented by the Alliance, and lately by the Gerakan as enunciated by its cultural expert, Dr. Syed Naguib Alatas, have dominated Malaysian political life.

This is why with every passing year, there is growing national division – because the various races, cultures and languages do not feel that they have a equal stake in a Malaysian nation, where there is no economic and political equality, cultural and language liberty, and social justice.

The Penang racial riots last year could be traced directly to this growing national mood of alienation among Malaysians.

All Malaysians who believe in the cause of a multi-racial Malaysia, and reject a communal and chauvinist Malaysia based on one language, one culture, must unite now to turn the tide of growing racialism. If we don’t act resolutely now, and defeat the forces of racialism in the constitutional and democratic arena, it may be too late.

The DAP was formed to establish one great idea: that Malaysia belongs to all races, cultures and languages which have made Malaysia their home – that it is not the monopoly of one race, one language or one culture.

All great ideas and objectives have small beginnings. Whether we take five, ten or even twenty years to see the final victory of our crusade, we in the DAP are pledged to continue the crusade until victory is ours.

During this one-month of campaigning in the Serdang by-election, the electorate of Serdang have two choices of policies before them: whether they want a Malaysian Malaysia, where all races, languages and cultures have equal rights and responsibilities in the development, defence and advancement of our nation, or whether they agree to a Malaysian society where one race, one language and one culture has more rights than other races, languages and cultures.

Although the Serdang by-election is a three-cornered fight, it is in fact a fight of two forces: the forces for a Malaysian Malaysia, as represented by the DAP, and the forces for a communal Malaysia, as represented by the Alliance and the Gerakan.

All that the Gerakan is seeking to do is to split opposition votes, to give the Alliance more chance of victory, so that the common objective of the Gerakan and the Alliance, a communal Malaysia, can triumph over the DAP’s Malaysian Malaysia.

The Serdang by-election is more than a fight between the DAP one on the one side, and the Alliance and the Gerakan on the other.

It is a fight between the forces of multi-racialism and the forces of communalism.

I therefore appeal to all like-minded Malaysian to come forward to give us all support to see the victory of multi-racialism in the Serdang by-election.

We welcome all support, physical, material, financial – particularly financial, because this is where we are most feeble.

As in all previous by-election where the DAP participated, we renew our pledge to conduct a honest and clean campaigning.

I hope the Alliance candidates will make the same pledge. In previous by-election and general elections, the Alliance had been guilty of unethical electoral conduct.

I propose to get in touch with the Alliance candidate with a proposed code of electoral conduct to prevent unethical conduct, dishonest and dirty campaigning, or any tampering with the free expression of the voter’s democratic will, as in tempering with ballot boxes, etc. I am sure that if the Alliance candidate wishes to see a clean and honest fight, we can come to an understanding on this matter.


Audited by: Faiz M. and Joyce T.