Press Conference Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-Genereal and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at DAP PJ Hqrs on Tuesday, 4.12.1984 at 12 noon
Dap to hold its 1985 Congress in Penang on April 13 and 14 to elect a new Party leadership
The DAP Central Executive Committee, which met in Petaling Jaya DAP Hqrs last night, took various decisions. They include:
DAP 1985 Party Congress in Penang: The 1985 DAP Party Congress will be held in Penang on April 13 and 14, 1985, which will among other things, elect a new Central Executive Committee for the Pary. A day before the Party Congress, the DAP Socialist Youth and Wanita DAP would hold their respective annual conventions in Penang.
All DAP Branches have been instructed to hold their annual general meetings by end of December and all State DAP Conventions to be held in the month of March 1985.
The holding of early Branch, State and National elections in the Party is prompted by the possibility of early general elections, which is expected to be held any time from August 1985 to April 1986.
A 1985 DAP Congress preparatory committee, under the chairmanship of Penang DAP State Secretary and DAP MP for Bukit Bendera, Sdr. Gooi Hock Seng, has been set up to be responsible for organising the Congress.
The Central Executive Committee has also set up a Constitution committee under the chairmanship of Sdr. Karpal Singh to review and make proposals where necessary for amendment to the Party Constitution.
The Congress Resolutions Committee will be headed by Sdr. Lee Lam Thye for presenting to the Congress composite resolutions comprising the main thrust of the resolutions submitted by the various branches.
Launching of DAP Political School on Dec. 21, 1984
DAP National Chairman, Dr. Chen Man Hin, will launch the DAP Political School at the DAP National Building at Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 21, 1984.
The DAP Political School, which is under the responsibility of the Director of Political Bureau, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw, will conduct two courses for party cadres in the last 10 days of December 1984.
DAP to take Petronas to Court to challenge the legality of its take-over of Bank Bumiputra and the $2.4 billion BMF bad loans
The DAP CEC has decided, in the public interest, to challenge in the Courts the legality of the Petronas take-over of the Bank Bumuputra and its purchase of the $2.4 billion BMF bad loans.
The CEC has decided that the Petronas move cannot be allowed to go unchallenged, as otherwise, it would set a dangerous precedent to enable the government to avoid public and Parliamentary accountability when there is any major failure or collapse of a government agency entrusted with public funds by the simple expedient of getting Petronas to buy it over, but also because Petronas or any government instrumentality must not be permitted to commit unlawful acts or exceed its statutory powers.
Petronas was specifically set up by Parliament under the Petroleum Development Act 1974 to be vested with all the petroleum resources of Malaysia and to carry out upstream downstream and other petroleum-related activities, but not to be a bailer of ailing banks or absorber of bad debts.
If Petronas is not firmly brought under legal and Parliamentary control, then it has the potential of becoming a second Pertamina if there is gross mismanagement and breach of trust as happened in the BMF loans scandal.
The Central Executive Committee has instructed Party legal adviser, K.C. Cheah to initiate legal action against Petronas on the Bank Bumiputra take-over and BMF loans purchase.
DAP forms National Committee headed by DAP Deputy Organising Secretary, Hu Sepang, to monitor and highlight the grave problem of illegal Indonesian immigrants and Filipino refugees
The problem of the illegal Indonesian immigrants in Penisular Malaysia has reached national crisis proportion, and the DAP CEC decided last night to establish a DAP National Committee to monitor and highlight the grave problem of illegal Indoensian immigrants as well as that of the Filipino refugees in Sabah.
The DAP National Committee on III and FR (Illegal Indonesian Immigrants and Filipino Refugees) will be responsible for the organising of public protest meetings against the influx of illegal immigrants, and the social, law and order problems they create for the people. It will seek to collect data and information about the anti-social and criminal activities of the illegal Indonesian immigrants and Filipino refugees to illustrate the seriousness and magnitude of the problem.
This DAP III/FR National Committee will be needed by DAP Deputy Organising Secretary and Negri Sembilan Assemblymen for Rahang, Sdr. Hu Sepang, and comprise the following:
Vice Chairman: Ahmad bin Ton
Fung Kei Wing
Ling Sie Ming
Secretary: Chia Kee Teck
Members: M. Kuppusamy
Yah Ah Ngau
Tai Sin Ng
Lim Hon Hang
Phillip Hor
DAP Save Bukit China One-Person-One Dollar Protest Campaign against $2 million quit rent
The DAP Save Bukit China $2 million quit rent one-person one-dollar protest campaign committee has been set up at the national level, comprising:
Chariman: Liew Ah Kim
Vice Chairman: Lau Dak Kee
Teoh Teik Huat
Secretary: Lai Keun Ban
Members: Madhavan Nair
Clift Tan
Loke Siew Chin
Fadzlan Yahya
Yap Ah Ngau
Lip Tuch Chee
The DAP welcome the decision of the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple trustees to take legal action to challenge the legality of the $2 million quit rent ultimatum and demand of the Malacca State Government for payment within a month or face forfeiture of Bukit China.
The Malacca Chief Minister had clearly acted in bad faith and with ulterior motive to force the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple trustees to yield to the Malacca State Government’s intention to force development of Bukit China.
Considering that the Malacca State Government has in 1968 informed the trustees that Bukit China need not pay quit rent as it is used for burial ground, and that there had been so such quit rent demand or ultimatum to other cemeteries, this is another example where the Malacca State Government had violated the 2M Government’s pledge of having a ‘clean, efficient and trustworthy’ administration – as such an action has shown the Malacca State Chief Minister as a most untrustworthy leader!
Dr. Mahathir should check Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik and not play ‘politics’ on the Bukit China issue
I note the remarks by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, during his official visit to Selangor taking the DAP to task for accusing the Government of suppressing the right of a particular race when carrying out development.
The Prime Minister should check Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik’s highly destructive and divisive activities in trying to force through the development of Bukit China, and not play ‘politics’ by taking swipes at the DAP.
For national interest, the Prime Minister should put aside ‘party politics’ as much as possible, and view national problems from the long-term interest of the country and people.
If the Prime Minister take this long-term national perspective, I am sure he would agree that for the Malacca Chief Minister to try to deprive the Chinese community of their ancient ownership right to Bukit China and force through development, when the Malacca Chief Minister had no support whatsoever from the mainstream Chinese community, is a most divisive and destructive action which would aggravate racial polarisation and destabilise the country.
It is not the DAP or the Chinese community which started and created the Bukit China issue. It is the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Thamby Cik, who started the national agitation and escalated racial polarisation by taking the first step to deprive the Malaysian Chinese of their historic, political, religious, cultural rights as symbolized by Bukit China.
As a responsible national leader, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed should call up the Malacca Chief Minister and instruct him to abandon the Bukit China development plan, and to respect the historic, cultural and religious sensitivities of every community in Malaysia. Otherwise, Datuk Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik will have the dubious honour of being the one person who has done the most to aggravate racial polarisation in 1984!
The Prime Minister must see to it that Ministers, Menteri-Menteri Besar or Chief Ministers do not take actions which trample on the sensitivities of the cultural and religious rights of other communities, and when such communities react in strong objection, to label them as ‘chauvinists’ or ‘racialists’. If this is the way of governing Malaysia or any of the state, then these Ministers, Mentri-Mentri Besar or Chief Ministers must take the chief blame for national disunity and distrust.
The Prime Minister said that the DAP wished for the UMNO, MCA and MIC to fall out among themselves so that the support of various races for the Barisan would be eroded, paving the way for takeover by the opposition party.
Firstly, I note that that Dr. Mahathir did not mention Gerakan clearly, this party is not important enough in the Prime Minister’s eyes. Secondly, the Prime Minister is attributing to the DAP the power to cause division in Barisan Nasional parties. I never realized that the DAP leaders had the power to cause power struggles between the Neo Yee Pan and Tan Koon Swan MCA faction, or to engineer the Bukit China issue by getting the Malacca Chief Minister to raise the issue to foment disunity in MCA ranks.
We in the DAP in our political history had been accused of all sorts of things, and we are not bothered by these accusations so long as what we are doing is for the good of the people and country.
MCA’s Save Bukit China is one of the most ridiculous political ploys in Malaysian political history
The MCA Save Bukit China Fund is one of the most ridiculous political ploys in Malaysian political history. This is because the MCA is a member of the government, both at Federal and Malacca State level, and its job is to see to it that the $2 million quit rent demand and ultimatum of the Malacca State Government on Bukit China is withdrawn, and the government’s Bukit China development plan abandoned.
Otherwise, we have the most ridiculous situation where inside the government the MCA voted in support of the $2 million Bukit China quit rent demand and forced development of Bukit China, while outside, MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, MPs, State Assemblymen and Senators give one month’s salary or allowance to a Save Bukit China Fund.
MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, MPs, Assemblymen, Senators, are expected to use their position to represent the rights and aspirations of the people, and not to give one’s month salary or allowance to wash away their guilt and responsibility for betraying such rights the government.
The people are not interested in the one month’s salary or allowance of MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, MPs, Assemblymen, Senators, but their standing up in Cabinet and the State Executive Councils, in Parliament and State Assembly for the right of the people.
Their one month’s salary or allowance – in fact, their total salary or allowance – cannot exonerate them for any betrayal of the rights and interests of the people. Otherwise, MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, MPs, Assemblymen, Senators can betray the basic rights of the people monthly II they are prepared to donate one month’s salary or allowance for each such betrayal! For example, they could agree to the implementation of Clause 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act and agree to the conversion of Chinese primary schools into national primary schools, and then to placate the Chinese community, all agree to give one month’s salary or allowance to the Save Chinese Education Fund – when there is no more Chinese education left.
The Neo Yee Pan faction accuses the Tan Koon Swan faction of mixing politics with economics. But the Neo Yee Pan faction is now committing the grave error of confusing their political action with monetary action.
Neo Yee Pan and the other MCA leaders should realise that no amount of money can compensate for any of the political, religious, cultural and historic rights of the Malaysian Chinese which are eroded by the Bukit China issue.
This is why I wrote to Datuk Dr. Neo Yee Pan yesterday to point out to him the various political actions that the MCA could and must take. They must dissociate themselves from the $2 million quit rent demand of the Malacca Chief Minister, by getting their Exco Members in Malacca to resign, the MCA Central Committee and branches must take a public position of expressing no confidence in Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik as Malacca Chief Minister, and calling for his removal; and the requisition of a supreme council meeting of Barisan Nasional to veto the Malacca Chief Minister’s $2 million quit rent demand and Bukit China development decision.
Let me again tell Neo Yee Pan and the other MCA leaders: Your money cannot wash away your political responsibility of supporting the Bukit China actions of the Malacca State Government. The people do not want your money. They want your political action. The people demand to see the MCA, if it is sincere on the Bukit China issue, to take a firm stand inside the government, both at State and Federal level.
If the Malacca Chief Minister is prepared to force the issue on Bukit China, let Neo Yee Pan and Lim Keng Yaik explain why they are not prepared to force the issue by expressing no confidence in him and calling for his removal as Chief Minister?