DAP commends PAS and calls on UMNO to join the Save Sim Kie Chon campaign on humanitarian, equality, justice and moral grounds

Press Conference Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Malacca on Tuesday, 6.8.1985 at 11.30 a.m.

DAP commends PAS and calls on UMNO to join the Save Sim Kie Chon campaign on humanitarian, equality, justice and moral grounds

I commend PAS for its call on the Pardons Board to reconsider the Sim Kie Chon appeal and to commute Sim’s death sentence to life imprisonment based on principles of justice and humanity.

The statement by the PAS Vice Chairman and Information Bureau Chief, Ustaz Haji Mohamed Nakhaie Haji Ahmad, is the first time PAS has shown that it is prepared to take a public stand on issues based on their intrinsic merits and principles transcending narrow racial or religious considerations.

I call on UMNO also to support the Petition of Mercy to save Sim Kie Chon from the gallows and demonstrate that on humamitarian, equality, justice and moral questions, all political parties in Malaysia could take a common stand transcending narrow racial or religious grounds.

UMNO’s support for the save Sim Kie Chon campaign would have three important offects:

(i)Save Sin Kie Chon from the hangman’s rope;

(ii) Restore public confidence in the equality, justice and morality of the legal and judicial process by making clear that there are no two sets of laws, justice or morality for Ministers and the powerful on the one hand and the ordinary citizen and week on the other; and

(iii)demonstrate that Malaysian & Malaysian political parties have come of age, as they could rise above narrow racial or religious differences to take a common stand based on national. interest and the universal values of equality , justice and morality, and humanity.

I call on more organisations in the country, and in particular ABIN, UMNO Youth, trade unions and civic organisations, to join in the nation—wide appeal to the Yang di Pertuan Agong to exercise his prerogative of mercy to commute Sim’s death sentence to life imprisonment to demonstrate that the campaign to save Sim’s life is a multi—ethnic and not a racial issue as claimed by some.

I also call on the Attorney-General, Sri Abu Talib Othman, to give an undertaking that pending the nation-wide campaign to appeal to he Yang di Pertuan Agong to reprieve Sim’s death penalty, Sim would not be executed. Sim’s defence counsel, Karam Singh, had alleged that he had been ‘rushed’ without being given proper opportunity to present Sim’s appeal to the Supreme Court on July 22. Let there be no allegation that Sim’s execution was ‘rushed’ to deny the people the opportunity to appeal to the Yang di Pertuan Agong for clemency for Sim.

Money cannot be used as a criteria to deal with the national prob1em of illegal Indonesian immigrants

I am shocked by the persistent campaign by the Chairman of the Selangor Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Raja Datuk Nasron Raja Ishak, for the ‘legalisation of the illegal Indonesian immigrants in Malaysia.

The latest argument he has used is that it is cheaper to legalise the employment of illegal Indonesian immigrants than to expel them or chock their entry.

The DAP fully rejects Raja Nasrom’s call for the legalisation of the illegal Indonesian immigrants as well as his reason supporting the call.

Money or financial gain must never be used as a criteria in dealing with the problem of illegal Indonesian immigrants, in the same way that nationa1 interests, stability, harmony and unity must never be compromised for monetary advantage.

I am very shocked that Raja Nasrom, as Chairman of the Selangor Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, should be prepared to use money as a yardstick to solve national problems. If this is the case, then the Vietnamese ‘refugees’ or ‘illegal immigrants’ problem in 1979 and up till now could have been dealt with by ‘legalising them’ because it would be cheaper in the end.

Is the proposal by Raja Nasrom a reflection of the result of the New Economic Policy, where money takes the highest priority interest to all other considerationsof national, harmony, unity and stability?

In the national interest, whatever the cost, the Government must take all necessary action to deport the illegal Indonesian immigrants, for their continued presence and increase could only undermine national peace, harmony, stability and unity.

I fully agree with the former Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia and MP for Pulai, Datuk Mohamed Rahmat, who yesterday called for stricter laws against illegal immigrants, as well as for new laws to punish locals who conspired with and protected illegal immigrants.

It is clearly impossible for such a large and long presence of illegal Indonesian immigrants, which I estimate as between 800,000 to one million in Malaysia, without the help, harbouring and connivance of syndicates of Malaysians, including officials.

About 10 days ago, it was publicly exposed that illegal Indonesian immigrants are being helped to stay and work in Malays with recommendation letters by local notables. The personal secretary to the Kukup Assemblyman in Johore, Abdul Moez Haji Hasbullah, had openly admitted that he had issued 20 such letters using the letterhead and chop of the Assemblyman.

But up till now, the Police had taken no action against Abdul Moez Haji Hasbullah. If people like Moez Haji Hasbullah could openly and publicly help illegal Indonesian to stay and find work in the country, then the problem of illegal Indonesian immigrants would never be solved, because there is powerful support fcr their entry into the country

As the Johore police seems to be taking a very light—hearted attitude to this very serious problem, especially over the case of Moez Haji Hasbullah, I call on the Minister for Home Affairs, Datuk Musa Hitam, to issue a directive to the Johore Police to give the most serious and urgent priority to the case and all problems related to the illegal Indonesian immigrants.

Better still, Bukit Aman should be called in to deal with Moez’s case and all other case related with illegal Indonesian immigrants.