Speech by DAP Secretary-General and Member of Parliament for Bandar Melaka, Mr. Lim Kit Siang at a Rembau-Tampin Parliamentary by-election rally at Bating Melaka on 1st July 1972 at 9 p.m.
DAP calls for abolition of Internal Security Act
The Alliance Government has made use of the Internal Security Act to detain and silence political opponents, and other persons who embarrass the Government.
A good example is Hamid Tuah, who has been detained for more than three years. His only crime is because of his passionate championing of the cause of the landless poor in Malaysia, who should be given land to take out a living.
Landlessness is one of the basic social problems in Malaysia. Although Malaysia is rich with virgin land, the kampong Malays, new villagers and estate labourers are not given land to make a livelihood, while the Government gives large acreage of land to their yes-men in the alliance and MCA, who are already very well-off.
If it is a crime for Hamid Tuah to champion the cause of the landless in Malaysia, it must be a bigger crime for the rich, the wealthy, and the landed, to exploit, oppress and bully the poor, the have-nots. Why doesn’t the Government make use of the Internal Security Act to arrest and detain all those rich, wealthy, powerful Alliance and MCA leaders who make use of their money, position, wealth, to exploit and oppress the poor in the kampongs, new villages and estates?
The Alliance Government has one law for the rich and wealthy, and another one for the poor.
The DAP calls on the Government to give all political detainees an public trial, or release them unconditionally.
The Government has been saying that the Internal Security Act is necessary because of the communist threat. The communist threat is basically a socio-economic, political challenge to the Government.
The Government should be able to employ rational, intelligent policies to solve the basic, deep-rooted political, economic, social, educational and cultural discontents and grievances of the people with every passing year. Once these discontents of the people are resolved, there will not be any serious communist threat in Malaysia. But if these basic, deep-seated frustrations of the people are not resolved, one thousand Internal Security Acts will not be able to minimise or reduce the communist threat in Malaysia, for the simple reason that the communist appeal thrives on the people’s political, social, economic, educational and cultural grievances.
The DAP therefore calls on the alliance Government to immediately repeal the Internal Security Act, and embark on sensible, reasonable and wise policies which can get the support of the people through the resolution of their economic, political, social, cultural and educational grievances.