By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 27.11.84
DAP calls on Government not to use statistics to conceal and play down the seriousness of the problem of Indonesian illegal immigrants in the country
During the last weekend, Tan Koon Swan attacked Neo Yee Pan for hypocrisy and lack of political sincerity in not daring to raise in the Cabinet the burning issues affecting the people, in particular the Malaysian Chinese.
Tan Koon Swan’s strictures are fully justified, except that there is no basic difference (‘half kati and eight tahils’) between the Neo Yee Pan MCA faction and the Tan Koon Swan MCA faction.
For the Tan Koon Swan MCA faction is equally guilty of the strictures Tan Koon Swan levelled against Neo Yee Pan and group.
In Parliament yesterday, for instance, there was not a single Tan Koon Swan MCA faction Member of Parliament who was prepared to stand up during the debate on the Ministry of Home Affairs estimates to back up the DAP’s call on the government to give serious attention to the problem of the illegal Indonesia immigrants.
Like the Neo Yee Pan MCA faction, the Tan Koon Swan MCA faction strike a lot of pressure and make a lot of noise outside, but in Cabinet, Parliament, the Executive Councils and Assemblies, they all behave as very tame and timid elected representatives of the people!
I am very indignant with the MPs of both the Neo Yee Pan and Tan Koon Swan MCA factions for yesterday UMNO MPs took the occasion to give the impression that the problem of the illegal Indonesia immigrants is a very minor problem.
In his reply to both Sdr. Lee Lam Thye and my speeches on the illegal Indonesia immigrants, the Deputy Home Affairs Minister, Radzi bin Sheikh Ahmad, said that the illegal Indonesian immigrants are responsible only for 2.6% of the crimes in the country.
It is well known that statistics could be used to conceal facts and can be very misleading unless the full information about how the statistics were collected and presented are known. For example, how are such crime rates calculated, reported crimes only or inclusive of known but unreported crime; how does the police classify crimes as being committed by illegal Indonesia immigrants- does it include those where the illegal Indonesia immigrants are not arrested; the total number of carious crimes concerned, and the incidence of the involvement of illegal Indonesian immigrants in the more serious crimes like armed robber, rape and murders; etc.
I would urge the Government not to use statistics to conceal or play down the grave problem of illegal Indonesian immigrants. The government must be prepared to admit that this problem is getting out of hand and the people have right to demand firm and tough government action to protect their lives, security of property as well as the maintenance of law and order in the country.
The people, especially in Johore, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Federal Territory and Pahang, had been at the receiving end of the problem of the illegal Indonesian immigrants in growing numbers of cases of house-breaking, armed robbery, rape and murders- many of which are unresolved, and the people have a right to demand that there must be a halt to this problem.
The DAP will hold the second people’s public protest against the illegal Indonesian immigrants in Yong Peng on Sunday, Dec 2 and this public protest meetings will continue until the government is prepared to wake up from its compacency and indifference to deal seriously with this problem.