Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Petaling, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP Titi branch Dinner at Titi, Negri Sembilan, on Saturday, 23rd May 1981 at 8 p.m.
Call on Prime Minister to declare the government stand and relationship with the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO)
Last Thursday, the Home Affairs Minister, Tan Sri Ghazalie Shafie, declared that Malaysia would not take part in any joint border operations with Thai troops against Pattani United Liberation Organisation rebels.
Last month, a stream of Southern Thailand’s Pattani Malays crossed into Malaysian border. To avoid the souring up of relationships between Malaysia and Thailand, it is essential that Malaysia’s stand and on the PULO should be above-board.and correct.
This is all the more important as there appears to be a feeling among Thai authorities of an understanding between the Malaysian Government and PULO, while there appears to be a feeling among some Malaysian authorities of a relationship between the MCP inside the Thai border and the Thai army.
When Parliament meets next month, I have given notice to put a question to the Prime Minister on the first day on June 8, 1981, to declare the Malaysian government’s stand and relationship with PULO.
My question, addressed to the Prime Minister, reads:
“To ask the Prime Minister whether it is true that his Ministry, together with that of Foreign and Home Affairs Ministries, have had contacts with the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO), and to state what is the Malaysian Government’s stand on PULO struggle and whether the Mentri Besar of Besar, Datuk Syed Nahar, was authorised to meet with the deputy PULO Secretary-General, Histam Abdullah in Alor Star in April, if so, why.”
MCA’s politics of money
Recently, the MCA has stepped up their politics of money to try to use money to buy over MPs and State Assemblymen, not only from the DAP, but also from the Gerakan.
Various DAP MPs, State Assemblymen and even leaders at other levels have been approached with offers of Multi-Purpose Holding Bhd. Shares as an inducement to them to defect. Offers, depending on one’s statue and whether an MP or State Assemblymen, range from a few thousand shares of Multi-Purpose Holding Bhd. to 50,000 shares and even as high as 100,000 shares of Multi-Purpose.
I do not believe that the MCA’s Politics of Money can buy over the hearts and minds of the give million Malaysian Chinese, although it may succeed in buying over a few unprincipled and opportunistic elements, who for money are prepared to prostitute themselves and betray the people’s faith and trust.
The MCA claims to be the representative of the Malaysian Chinese, but its leaders, like all the MCA Ministers, dare not stand in constituencies with predominantly Chinese electorate. This shows the empty boasts and claims of the MCA, which has only money and Multi-Purpose shares to dazzle and seduce MP and State Assemblymen from other parties.
These defectors, whether MPs and SAs, invariably claim they do so for ‘Chinese Unity’, which they themselves do not believe in – for the Malaysian Chinese have proved general election after general elections that they reject the MCA. The unity these defectors are really working for is ‘Money Unity’.