“Only MCA competent to represent the Chinese” – to betray their legitimate rights and interests

Speech by DAP Organising Secretary, Mr. Lim Kit Siang, at a DAP Public Rally at Jelebu, Negri Sembilan, on Wednesday, 5th March 1969 at 8p.m.

In his message to the MCA on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak said that the Malaysian Chinese was “the only party competent to represent the Malaysian Chinese.”

There are two ways of representing Malaysian Chinese, or any particular community. One way is to represent the Malaysian Chinese in their fight for equal Malaysian citizenship, free study and use of the Chinese language and culture, and equal rights in every sphere of Malaysian life, whether in education, economic opportunities or cultural development.

The other way is to represent the Malaysian Chinese in the acceptance of a racialist policy, which seeks to make Malaysian Chinese second-class citizens of Malaysia, by branding them as non-bumiputras, the elimination of the Chinese language and Chinese education through a ‘one nation, one language’ policy, and the practice of discrimination against them in education, economic sphere and in cultural life.

The MCA has represented Malaysian Chinese competently in the second category, not to fight for their legitimate interests, but to slavishly accept and implement UMNO’s racialist policy and betray the legitimate rights and interest of Malaysian Chinese.

It is no wonder that the UMNO is so pleased with the MCA. It could not find a more slavish instrument.

On Friday, the Central General Assembly of the MCA will meet to discuss its policies and programmes. On its 20th anniversary, the MCA must decide whether it wants to continue to represent the Chinese so that it could betray them, or to represent the Chinese so as to strive for their legitimate rights and aspirations.

If the MCA wants to continue to do what it has been doing in the past years in steadily eroding and undermining equal citizenship rights of Malaysian Chinese, then it will pass meaningless resolutions, the majority of which will never be implemented, and will year in and year out win the praise of UMNO leaders for their “competence in representing Malaysian Chinese”.

But if the MCA want to be honest and true to itself, then it should make a complete break from present MCA policies and leadership.

It must condemn the following MCA leaders and denounce the policies for which they stand for:

1. Tun Tan Siew Sin, who said that the Malaysian Chinese have not yet proved their loyalty to Malaysia –thus strengthening the argument of the Malay extremists do not deserve equal citizenship, and who is the Enemy No. One of the Merdeka University.

2. Dr. Lim Swee Aun, who supported the division of Malaysians into first-class and second- class citizenship, by classifying Malays and Indonesians, and Arabs into ‘bumiputras’ and non-malay into ‘non-bumiputras’.

3. Mr. Khaw Khai Boh, who signed the Maphilindo agreement in 1963 when everybody know that the Maphilindo was a racialist design by President Sukarno and President Macapagal of Philippines to set up a Pan-Malay Federation in South East Asia to deal with the Chinese in South East Asia. The Malaysian Chinese were saved from the evils and horrors of the Maphilindo, not by the MCA, but the stupidity of President Sukarno in launching confrontation.

4. Mr. Michael Chen, who championed the expansion fo the Malay Regiment, which is exclusively reserved to the Malay race.

5. Mr. Chua Song Lim, who is deadly opposed to the recognition of Nantah and Formosan degrees and qualifications, on the ground that they are of low academic standard.

6. Mr. Lee Siok Yew, who wants all Malaysian Chinese to speak the National Language in their own homes, so that the Chinese language will go into decline and issues.

7. Mr. Chan Chong Wen, who is the leading opponent to the free liberal use of the Chinese language, and its accordance as an official languages in Malaysia.

8. Mr. Wong Pow Nee, who helped draft the Abdul Rahman Talib Education Report, which has caused the close- down of Chinese secondary schools, and will lead to the closure of all Chinese primary schools after the general elections.

I do not expect the MCA to do the impossible, and to begin to serve the interest and welfare of the Malaysian Chinese. Far from repudiating the actions and deeds of the above MCA leaders, they will endorse them – because this is what the UMNO wants. As Tun Razak said the MCA will competently represent Malaysian Chinese for UMNO interest.