Statement by DAP Organising Secretary and Parliamentary Candidate for Bandar Melaka, Mr. Lim Kit Siang, at a press conference after Nomination on 5th April 1969
Firstly, let me explain why I am standing in Bandar Melaka and not in Damansara parliamentary constituency, as generally expected.
I personally had wanted to contest the Damansara parliamentary constituency, but the Central Executive Committee of the Party decided that I should contest Bandar Melaka. I will give two reasons:
(1) Bandar Melaka is one of the most important parliamentary constituencies in West Malaysia.The winning of the Bandar Melaka Parliamentary constituency will guarantee the DAP take-over and control of the Malacca Municipality when and if municipal elections are held, because the entire municipality Is inside the Bandar Melaka Parliamentary constituency. It is the intention of the DAP to make the Malacca Municipality the model of administration, government efficiency and dynamism, to show to the people of Malaysia what the DAP can do when it comes into power, whether municipality, state or federal level.
(2) The DAP wants the people and town of Malacca to join other major towns to provide the leadership and inspiration to the nation in the political and national campaign to achieve a more just and equal society, a Malaysian Malaysia, where there is no racial, language or cultural discrimination, and where there is no division of Malaysians into first-class and second-class citizens, by breaking them up into ‘bumiputras’ and ‘non-bumiputras’ and by differentiating languages and cultures into first-class and second-class languages and cultures.
Five hundred years ago, Malacca was the hub of an empire, which set the pace and example for others to follow. Malacca today can regain that historic role of leadership in Malaysian national affairs, if the people and town of Malacca will rise up to the challenge in the general elections, and stand up to the challenge in the side of equality, justice, for all languages, cultures, classes and races.
I invite the people and town of Malacca to join the DAP in serving notice on the corrupt, racialist and incompetent Alliance, that from today, we are launching a people’s crusade to make Malacca as from May 10, 1969, one of the capitals of the Malaysian Malaysia campaign.
All those right-thinking and courageous Malaysians who share the DAP’s vision and ideal for a Malaysian nation, where there is no exploitation of man by man, or class by class, or language by language, or race by race, I appeal to them to come forward and assist the DAP in the elections campaign.
We in the DAP will be short of funds and resources. But with the people’s support, we are confident of overcoming these problems.
We will conduct a clean and honest campaign in the general elections, and from Tuesday, 8th April 1969, when we hold out first public rally at the Malacca Padang, we will begin our political campaign to explain to the people why they must vote in the DAP and reject the Alliance in the Bandar Melaka Parliamentary constituency and the Kota Tengah, Kota Utara, Kota Timor and Kota Barat Bukit Rambai state constituency.