Lim Kit Siang call on Malaysian students to make the best use of their educational opportunity in Australia and return to serve and build up Malaysia
Parliamentary Opposition Leaders, Mr. Lim Kit Siang, has called on Malaysian students in Australia to work hard and to make the best use of their education opportunities in Australia so that they could return on completion of their studies and help build up Malaysia.
Mr. Lim said Malaysian students in Australia are in a sense fortunate and must not forget their responsibility to return to Malaysia to create a more just and equal, multi-racial Malaysia, and stamp out all form of extremism and chauvinism.
Mr. Lim said this at a record-breaking capacity crowd of Malaysian student at the Monash University, organised by the Monash University Malaysian Students Union (MUMSU), during his visit to Melbourne. The turn-out of Malaysian students at Mr. Lim’s talk was not only the biggest in the history of Monash University, but is ten times bigger than the average turn-out for talks by visitors from Malaysian.
In his speech, which was followed by question-and-answer session, lasting over three hours, Mr. Lim dealt with a wide range of issues affecting Malaysia in the 1980s.
He spoke for the new external challenges and threats arising from the new expansionist ambition of Hanoi and Moscow, and the even greater need for national unity and resilence to withstand external pressures.
Mr. Lim called for a concerted effort by all Malaysian to nationalize their thinking and approaches, and not to do the reverse, which is to further communalise life and attitudes in Malaysia.
Mr. Lim told the Malaysian students that Malaysia need the contribution of everyone of her son or daughter to make Malaysia great. Malaysia is a blessed nation endowed with such wealthy national and man-made resources, and with a united people which is hard-working, innovative and creative, an extire new future awaits her.
Unfortunately, there were those extremist and short-sighted group which where more interested in raising nationally-divisive issues which would only create inter-racial antagonism and constructive abilities of all Malaysian.
Mr. Lim said that the future of Malaysia rested in the hands of the new young generation of Malaysian – on their preparedness to make a commitment and take a stand to fight for their legitimate right and liberties.
Mr. Lim reminded the Malaysian students of the sating that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
Mr. Lim quoted form the Irish poet, Y.B. Yeats, and hoped that Malaysians would not live in an age “Where all the nest lacked conviction And the worst are full of passionate intensity”.
Mr. Lim said that the Malaysian students in Australia are among the “best” Malaysia has produced in the first post Merdeka generation.
Their responsibility therefore is to make the nest use of their educational opportunity in Australia and on completion of their studies, return to Malaysia to help build a new Malaysia.
If the students do not return to Malaysia, the Malaysia will lose many of her “best” sons and daughters, which is exactly what the “worst” in Malaysia want.
In his speech, Mr. Lim stressed the need for young Malaysian to set the example to think, feel and act as Malaysian first and fore-most, and their racial considerations should come second.