Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary- General and MP for Petaling, Lim Kit Siang, at the dinner given by Klang Pasar DAP Branch in honour of Chian Heng Kai and Chan Kok Kit on their unconditional release after 4 years and 9 months detention under the Internal Security Act, held at Klang on Tuesday, Sept.8, 1981 at 8 pm.
DAP given notice to Dewan Rakyat to move a motion to condemn UMNO Youth Leader, Haji Suhaimi Kamaruddin, for his extremist and chauvinist pronouncements gravely retarding nation building.
I have given notice to Dewan Rakyat that in budget meeting of Parliament from Oct. 12 to December 8, I will be moving a motion to condemn the UMNO Youth Leader, Haji Suhaimi Kamaruddin, for his repeated extremist and chauvinistic speeches which gravely retard nation building.
My motion reads:
“That this House takes grave mote of the repeated speeches and pronouncements of the UMNO Youth Leader, Haji Suhaimi Kamaruddin, which make extremist and chauvinistic demands as for example:
• The imposition of control on the economic progress of non-bumiputeras to reduce the economic gap between them and the bumiputeras;
• The raising of the quota of housing to beset aside for bumiputras in housing schemes from 33 to 55 percent;
• The implementation of Clause 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act to convert Chinese and Tamil primary schools into national primary schools; and
“CONDEMNS Haji Suhaimi Kamarrudin’s repeated extremist and chauvinistic speeches and pronouncements as representing the ugly and unacceptable interpretation of the New Economic Policy which disregards the cardinal NEP pledge that in its implementation ‘no particular group experiences any loss or feels any sense of deprivation of its rights, privileges, income, job or opportunity’, and even more serious, for their undermining and retarding the nation building process in Malaysian.”
I had written to the MCA President, Datuk Lee San Choon, the Gerakan President, Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, SUPP Chairman, Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui and the MIC President, Datuk Samy Vellu on July 9, proposing that MCA, Gerakan, SUPP and MIC Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and MPs join with all DAP MPs in Parliament to move a motion to condemn Haji Suhaimi for his repeated extremist and chauvinist demands.
None of the four Barisan leaders had the courage even to reply to my proposal. The DAP is prepared to stand alone, inside and outside Parliament, to condemn extremism and chauvinism from any quarter, for it the voices of reason, moderation, compromise and tolerance are not prepared to assert themselves, then very soon, they would be drowned by the sirens of extremism and chauvinism.
The DAP understand that the Barisan component part leaders, in particular those from the MCA, dare not take a stand on critical and crucial issues, because they have a lot of political and personal weakness which could be used to hold them to ransom. For instance, how could MCA leaders who had openly infringed the Companied Act in inviting public subscription to shares of holding companies when they had not complied with the law requiring a prospectus to be registered with the Register of Companies to stand up for the people’s basic political, educational, economic rights and interest? If they up for there right, then they could ne prosecuted immediately for infringement of the laws of the land, and be fined or jailed, losing even their political qualifications to hold Parliamentary or State Assembly seats, let alone Ministerial posts.
Although Datuk Lee San Choon, Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui and Datuk Samy Vellu have shown that they are not leaders whom the public can depend on to defend their interests against extremist and chauvinist political leaders like Haji Suhaimi, the DAP will write to all the other MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP Ministers and Members of Parliament to ascertain whether they have a mind of their own.
The DAP will ask each and everyone of the MCA, Gerakan, SUPP and MIC MPs whether they would support the DAP’s motion to condemn Haji Suhaimi, or alternatively, at least support that Parliamentary time be allocated for a full-scale debate on the DAP motion.
Suhaimi’s Call for the banning of the DAP
The latest example of Haji Suhaimi/s and chauvinism is his call in Kota Bahru for the ban of the DAP. Haji Suhaimi said the ban of the DAP is necessary for national unity as the DAP is a stumbling block to the creation of racial harmony in the country.
This is a most curious argument for the leader of a movement which is racially exclusive. If there is any single factor which is the main cause of disunity and racial disharmony, it is the politics of race as exemplified by UMNO and UMNO Youth.
Haji Suhaimi is the most unqualified man in the country to preach about multi-racialism, for his does not know, understand or accept the meaning of multi-racialism.
Strangely, enough, Suhaimi’s call for the ban of the DAP finds support in the MCA, and this is why MCA Ministers and MPs are not prepared to condemn Suhaimi in Parliament for his extremist and chauvinist demands.
Suhaimi’s argument that the DAP’s ban is necessary for national unity can only be accepted by the most perverted of minds. In fact, for the sake of national harmony and unity, Suhaimi should be prosecuted for sedition for his call for the implementation of Clause 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act to convert Chinese and Tamil primary schools into national primary schools.
DAP Deputy Secretary=General and MP for Kuala Lumpur Bandar, Sdr. Lee Lam Thye, had written to the Attorney-General Datuk Talib, to reopen the case on Suhaimi with a view towards prosecuting him for sedition, and I hope the Attorney-General will discharge his duties without fear or favour.
Call on the Deputy Education Minister, Chan Siang Sum, to explain whether there is a government plan to build a Chine primary school in Kuantan.
A few days ago, when the Education Minister, Dr. Sulaiman Daud, visited Kuantan, he expressed ignorance about any government plan to build a new Chinese primary school in Kuantan. The Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Chan Siang Sun ,had said many times that a Chinese primary school would be built in Kuantan. Clearly, something is wrong somewhere. Either the Education Minister had been badly informed and briefed about the educational plans for Kuantan, or Datuk Chan Siang Sun had been misleading the people of Kuantan and Malaysia.
I call on the Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Chan Siang Sun, to give a full and detailed explanation as to whether ther government has approved a new Chinese primary school for Kuantan, and to give the fullest details as to cost, site, when construction will begin, when school will open, number of class-rooms, when approval for the school was given, etc.