Speech by DAP Secretary General, member of Parliament for Petaling and Malacca State Assemblyman for kubu, Lim Kit Siang, at the meeting of DAP State Organising Secretaries at DAP HQ, Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 30th July, 1978 at 10 a.m.
Every DAP MP will be assigned special Ministries or portfolios to specialise and become knowledgeable
The DAP is a serious political movement. With the election of 16 Members of Parliament, the DAP has now a heavier duty to discharge our political commitments and responsibilities.
Every DAP MP will be assigned special Ministries or portfolios to specialise in and to become knowledgeable in the areas of their assignment. Every DAP MP must be prepared to keep learning, to read widely and to broaden our mental outlooks and horizons.
I will also involve the 25 State Assemblymen in this specialization, for although State Assemblymen are involved in State Government matters, they should also better themselves in matters of State so that they could shoulder greater responsibilities in the coming years.
This assignment of Ministries of portfolios to MPs does not mean the establishment of a Shadow Cabinet, although every DAP MP will be expected to keep the Minister whose portfolio he has been assigned on his or her toes.
The DAP’s three great tasks in next five years
The DAP’s three great tasks in the next years are: Organisation, Communication of Publicity, and Political Education.
There must be a major re=organisation of the party at all lecels ao that the Party becomes a organisationally compact of their responsibilities and duties.
With this objective in mind, the Party has established a National Organising Secretariat comprising the following:
National Organising Secretary : P.Patto, MP/SA
Deputy Nat. Org. Secretary : Chan Teck Chan,MP/SA
(new branches)
Asst. Nat. Org Secretary : Fung Ket Wing,MP(East Malaysia)
Fadzlan Yahya(Rural Affairs)
Hu Sepang(branches)
Tai Sinn Piow (membership)
Sdri Ong Kwee Lin (woman)
All State Organising Secretaries will serve as members of this National Organising Secretariat, which should meet once in three months to review progress in the organisational plans and progress of the Party.
I will be summoning separate meeting to finalise plans to deal with the Party’s two other great tasks, namely communication or publicity; and political education.
Every state, for instance, should have a State Director of Political Education to plan and spearhead political education among members in the State.
The next five years will be exciting and challenging times for the DAP and DAP members. Let us rise up to the occasion and mobilise and rally Malaysians behind us so that we grow stronger and stronger in the months and years ahead.
Call on Government to allow public rallies to be held in Titi Tinggi by- election in Perlis
Nomination for the Titi Tinggi State Assembly by-election in Perlis is on Thursday, Sugust 3. The DAP will be fielding a candidate, which will be the first time the DAP is contesting in Perlis.
I call on the Government and the TGP, Tan Sri Haniff Omar, to allow pblic rallies to be held in the Titi Tinggi by-election, as the excuse for the can on public rallies during general elections does not apply any more. The Government had explained that public rallies for the General Elections was necessary because of the 3th anniversary celebrations of the MCP on June 20. We are now ell into August, and there had been no incidents; and furthermore, security in a small place like Titi Tinggi in Perlis should be no great problem for the security forces to handle. The Titi Tinggi by-election is not part of the general elections, as two weeks ago Titi Tinggi had a Satae Assemblyman who was returned unopposed, until he died on polling day.
I will send a telegram to the IGP tomorrow asking him to allow public rallies in Titi Tinggi. Continued ban on public rallies can only aggravate international anxieties about the security and stability of Malaysia – completely contrary to the assurances given by Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Nohamed, at the end of May to European investors that security in Malaysia posed no problem at all.
Sdr Karpal Singh, acting DAP Penang State Chairman, as I have ordered Sdr Peter Dason to take two months’ rest as he had greatly overstrained himself and is quite ill, will charge of the Titi Tinggi by-election in Perlis, under the overall supervision of national Organising Secretary, Sdr P.Patto.