Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Petaling, Lim Kit Siang, when officially declaring open the Raub DAP Branch premises in Raub, Pahang, on Sunday, 22nd March 1981 at 4.30 pm
Call on Malaysians to be politically committed to defend and safeguard their constitutional, political, economic, educational and cultural right from being eroded away or like in Mengkarak new village in Pahang, where a tarred road has become a dirt road.
Yesterday, together with the National Deputy Chairman, Sdr. Ibrahim Singgeh, CEC Member Sdr. Lau Dak Lee, Pahang State DAP Chairman, Sdr. Lim Yin Hong and Special Assistant to Secretary-General, Sdr. Tai Sin Piaw, I visited Mengkarak new village in Pahang for the first time.
The two-miles road leading to Mengkarak when travelled, takes on the character of the part of Sahara Desert in Storm. What is most shocking is that the road was formerly a tar road – and despite the various Five Year Development Plans about developmental progress, in Mengkarak new village, a black tar road has become yellow-dirt road!
Is this going ahead, or going backward?
The Mengkarak road, which retrogressed from a black-tar road into a yellow-dirt road illustrates how the basic rights of Malaysians can be taken away in Malaysia.
It is important that Malaysians should develop to the fullest their political strength and power to protect and advance their constitutional, political, economic, educational and cultural rights so that in these spheres there will be no “black tar road becoming yellow-dirt road” as in Mengkarak new village.
In fact, the process of “black tar road becoming yellow-dirt road” is already happening in political, economic, educational and cultural field and must be stopped completely! In Klang, for instance, the arch affair where Chinese Chamber of Commerce in honour of the birthday of the Sultan of Selangor, is a good example of how in political, economic, cultural and educational field if we are not vigilant, “black tar road becoming yellow-dirt road” process can happen.
Another example of the process of “black tar road becoming yellow-dirt road” in connection in our political rights is the proposed amendment to the Societies Act to curtail and curb the right of societies to take an interest and concern about national issues, whether it be about nation building, government abuses, corruption, education system, the place of Chinese primary schools and mother-tongue education, etc, gravely violating the political rights of Malaysians.
Malaysians can only assure that politically, educationally, economically and culturally, that our rights do not undergo a process of “black tar road becoming yellow-dirt road” by all taking an active part in the political process to directly help in shaping our national destiny.
For 15 years, the DAP stood the test of time and political challenges. We have to face not only external threats and pressures to crush the DAP from outside, but also internal subversion by party traitors and turn-coats.
To camouflage their anti-party activities, such party turn-coats and traitors would use high-sounding principles to justify their action, and invent a mountain of lifes to try to explain wht they did what they did.
In the recent campaign by the ‘Gang of Four’ to destroy the DAP, the ‘Gang of Four’ through their ‘cultural assassins’, want to spread the image that the DAP leadership is anti-Chinese educated, claimed that in the party history, only ‘chopped’ the heads’ of Chinese-educated.
They glibly ignore the expulsion of Yeap Ghim Guan, and Goh Hock Gan, completely English-educated, so as to mislead the people.
Recently, the Gang of Four became even more irresponsible, and spread around that the Lim I am anti-Chinese and that in party history, only the Chinese were ever ‘chapped’. Again, they try to distort party history, in deliberately suppressing the fact that the Party had sacked Dr.A. Soorian, Party National Vice Chairman, and MP for Port Dickson and State Assemblyman in 1972 for gross breach of party discipline.
Protection of party interest to expel those who are out destroy the party knows no difference between Chinese educated, or English-educated, or Malay-educated, or Tamil-educated.
There can be the freest of discussion, dissent and criticism inside the Pary, but outside, when dealing with external political forces, the DAP must close ranks and present one solid, united front.
Anyone, whether Chinese, Malay or Indian, whether Chinese educated, or English-educated, or Malay-educated, or Tamil-educated, who destroys the image, credibility and standing of the Party publicly to benefit our political foes, will be severely disciplined. The Party leadership has never made distinctions in enforcing party discipline, and will continue to carry out our party responsibilities fairly but firmly.