Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP, Secretary General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at the Selangor DAP State Dinner held at Hokkien Association, Klang, on Sunday, 12.6.1983 at 8pm.
Call on MCA leadership to respect the verdict of the people of Kepayang and Raub and seek repeal of the Barisan National’s “one language” one culture’ policy to be replaced by a policy if many “many language, many cultures”
The people of Malaysia, thrpugh the electorates of Kepayang in October last year and that of Raub last Saturday on 4th June, had spoken loud and clear that they oppose and reject the Barisan National’s nation building policy of “ one language, one culture” in the 1980s announced after the April 1982 General Elections.
The people of Raub, in the Raub Declaration of June 4, 1983, which they adopted by their overwhelming support for the DAP in the by-election, made a ringing declaration that they endorsed and reaffirmed the Kepayang Declaration on behalf of Malaysians on the occasion of the Kepayang by- election to oppose and protest in the strongest possible terms against the Barisan Nasional’s Nation Building Policy of the 1980s to build a Malaysia of “ one language, one culture” as contained in the Barisan National’s first top policy document after the April 1982 General Elections at the Official Opening of the new parliament in Oct. 11. 1982.
The Raub Declaration demanded all MSA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Members of Parliament, State Executive Councilors State Assemblymen to explain to the people and country on what authority they agree to and supported the Barisan National’s Nation Building Policy of the 1980s of “ one language, one culture” which could gravely undermine and jeopardize the political, economic, educational and cultural rights and status of Malaysian Chinese and Indians, especially the future generations.
I call on the MCA under its new leader, Datuk Dr. Neo Yee Pan to respond to the Raub Declaration, either by justifying its support for the “one language, one culture” policy, or bow down to the verdict of the people of Kepayang and Raub and retract its support for the “ one language, one culture” policy, and demand that the Barisan National nation-building policy of “one language, one culture” be rescinded and replaced by a policy of “ many languages, many cultures”.
If the MCA under its new leader, Datuk Dr. Neo Yee Pan, is not a prepare to respect the verdict of the people of Kepayang and Raub, and persists in its support for the “one language, one culture” policy, then Datuk Dr. Neo should not shy away from a Seremban Parliamentary by-election, as I understand that Datuk Lee SanChoon has lesf the whole question as to whether there is going to be a Serenbam by-election in Datuk Neo’s hands, so that the policy of “one language, one culture” could be put to the people in Seremban.
It is indeed a political record of sort that in a matter of one year from the time when the MCA proclaimed a great “political victory and breakthrough” in politically representing the five million Malaysian Chinese, the MCA under Datuk Dr. Neo Yee Pan should now be afraid to face and hear the voice of the Chinese electorate!
For Datuk Dr. Neo Yee Pan’s own political sake, he would not want a Seremban Parliamentary by-election. But for the sake of the people of Seremban, and even more important for the sake of the Malaysia Chinese, there must be a Seremban Parliamentary by0election so that the true voice of the Malaysian Chinese could be heard.
The Malaysian Chinese must now decide whether they have now a MCA chief who is afraid of the Chinese voters!
DAP calls for the public declaration of assets by Ministers and members of Government as “Leadership by Example” of Clean Administration.
A day after the Cabinet reshuffles last week, the Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, warned Cabinet Ministers and members of the Government to divest themselves of all business ties, and that he would dismiss those who still do not abide by the directive on this matter issued previously.
This shows that despite the image of a dynamic and purposeful Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir had not been able to get his own Cabinet Ministers of the Government to fully comply with his directive to break off all business connections.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir, had called for “Leadership by Example”, but the national and state leaders are still setting the wrong and bad example.
For instance, it is public knowledge that Cabinet Minister and Members of the Government are participating in all forms of business and money-making ventures through their spouses, or by way of nominees. The Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir, should explain to the people what steps he had taken to stamp out such malpractices.
The housing land scandal in Malacca, the Mengawarti Scandal, where two Malacca State UMNO leaders formed a $2 company – Mengawarti Sdn. Bhd- and was allocated 250 acres of scarce housing land which a year later was sold to another company for $18 million is another case of “Leadership by Bad Example”! What action has the Prime Minister taken to stamp out such bad leadership and bad example?
Again in Malacca, recently, MCA officials grabbed for themselves the very limited number of low cost housing flats built by the State Government, denying the thousands of genuinely homeless the chance to a low-cost flat. What type of “Leadership by Example” is this?
I call on the Prime Minister to give serious though to the introduction of more satisfactory provisions to ensure a clean Cabinet and Administration, and to this end, Dr. Mahathir must be prepare to agree to requirement for all Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Government to publicly declare their assets, and that of their spouses, children and immediately family member,
Let the “Leadership by Example” call by Dr. Mahathir be made really meaningful by a public declaration of assets by all Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Administration.