Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at the Rahang DAP Branch anniversary dinner held at Rahang new village, Negeri Sembilan on Saturday, 30th June 1984 at 8 pm
Call on Works Minister, Datuk Samy Vellu not to regard his job merely as a ‘Tolls Minister’ to find ways to increase the burden of the ordinary commuter
Even before the new government policy of privatization has been in full operation, Malaysians can already see the evils of privatization.
The Minister of Works, Datuk Samy Vellu, for instance, is behaving as if he is the Minister for Tolls, merrily going round the country to find more opportunities to impose tolls to increase the burden of the ordinary commuters.
Within a period of a week, Datuk Samy Vellu has announced three new tolls, at the Senai Highway, the Johore Causeway, and the Kepong Interchange.
Datuk Samy Vellu should not regard his job as merely to find ways to impose tolls ad increase the burden of ordinary rakyat. Otherwise, his Ministerial portforlio might as well be ‘privatised’ and auctioned to the highest bidder who could promise to impose the most number of new tolls on the nation’s highways!
The government’s privatisation policy must be opposed where it results in the government abandoning its social responsibility to provide basic social services and infrastructure to the people.
Thus, in the Malaysia of today which is heading towards ‘Privatisation’, only rich and wealthy men could afford to have rare or complicated diseases, for they could afford the medical treatment, while the poor would be completely helpless, for the government is abandoning its responsibility to look after the health of the people, in particular the poorer strata of society.
As a result, Malaysia will become more inegalitarian, where the rich become richer and comfortable, while the poor become poorer and more miserable.
I call on the Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, to cause an immediate review of the privatization policy he has announced, to ensure that basic social services and facilities which the rakyat have a right to expect from the government are not slashed away.
As a first step, the Government should drop the idea of imposing toll for the Johore Causeway, and for Senai Highway and Kepong Interchange, for these are basic services and facilities which it is the government’s responsibility to provide.
Malaysians are already paying all forms of taxes and rates for these services.
DAP to move a motion to eheckt the implementation of the Malaysia-Indonesian agreement to legalise illegal Indonesia immigrants
I have given notice to the Speaker of Parliament, Tan Sri Zahhir that I intend to move a motion in the July meeting of Parliament, from July 16-27, to stop the implementation of the Malaysia-Indonesia Agreement to legalise illegal Indonesian Immigrants signed by Datuk Musa Hitam, the Deputy Prime Minister, in Medan in May.
My motion provides that the Malaysia-Indonesia Agreement on the supply of Indonesia labour for Malaysia should not be implemented until the long-standing problem of the 300,000 red identity card holders’ status as Malaysia citizens is resolved, and fully-satisfactory safeguards are taken to ensure that the legalization of illegal Indonesian immigrants would not pose a long-term economic, political, educational and cultural, as well as law and security problem, for Malaysians. My motion also provides that under no circumstances could the Indonesian workers’ stay in Malaysia be regarded as portion of their permanent residence entitling them to Malaysia citizenship. I hope this motion would get support from MCA and Gerakan, MIC, SUPP Ministers and Mps.