Call on DAP leaders and members not to rule out completely the possibility of general elections being held by early next year

Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secreatry- General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at the Perak DAP State Committee meeting held at Teluk Intan DAP branch premises, Teluk Intan, Perak on Saturday, Sept 14 .1985 at 4 p.m.

Call on DAP leaders and members not to rule out completely the possibility of general elections being held by early next year.

The prevailing opinion today is that it is impossible for general elections to be held this year, and that because of the MCA troubles, general elections could be held as late as 1987 for the full parliamentary term to be completed.

I want to sound a warning to all DAP leaders, members and branches not to rule out completely the possibility of general elections being held by early next year.

Because everybody says it is impossible for general elections to be held by the end of this year or the early part of next year, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed may be tempted to do the impossible.

In any event, the conditions for next year are not all that bright for the Barisan Nasional, whether politically or economically.

The Malaysian economy, which seemed to be slightly picking up this year, has again faltered, with prices of all the country’s major commodities taking a nose—dive, foreshadowing a deepening economic crisis. Massive retrenchments are throwing tens of thousands of Malaysian out of work, while the general social, economic and law and peace situation had been aggravated by the unrestrained influx of illegal Indonesian immigrants and other illegal foreign nationals.

In Hong Kong, eight months have been set aside for the George Tan trial, which would in fact be a trial of the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) as well.

With the Prime Minister’s China trip at the end of November, there are enough reasons to tempt Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed to do what everybody says is impossible, by calling for early general elections to start on a clean slate.

The DAP General Elections Preparatory Committee set up by the Central Executive C9mmittee met in Petaling Jaya last night, and decided on the election preparations to be made. Every State would have State General Elections Preparatory Committee to work under the directive of the National PAP General Elections Preparatory Committee, so that the DAP could be as ready as possible when Parliament and the State Assemblies are dissolved.’

DAP can only command the respect and support of the people if it is a disciplined dedicated and serious political movement

If the DAP is to command the respect add support of the people, it must be a disciplined, dedicated and serious political movement.
The MCA ‘Three Kingdom’ power struggle should be a warning and lesson to the DAP, that we cannot allow unprincipled, se1f-seeking and imm6ral politicians to tear the party apart to achieve their power aims.

The MCA power struggle for the last 18 months is not to restore the eroded rights and interests of the Malaysian Chinese whom they claim to represent, but for their separate personal and sectional vested interests.

If the three MCA factions could have expended 10 per cent of the energies, resources and finance they expended on each other in the ‘Three KINGDdom’ power struggle, to defend and restore the legitimate political, economic, educational, cultural and religious rights, of the Malaysian Chinese the plight of the Malaysian Chinese would not be in such a pitiful state today.

The tragedy is that the three MCA factions are very good only in party infighting, when they would show their ‘courage’ and ‘determination’, but when they are separately or collectively f aced with the UMNO’s policy stand which are detrimental to the interests of the Malaysian Chinese, all the three factions could not muster up the same ‘courage’ and ‘determination’.

The Gerakan is no different. As explained by the Gerakan theoretician and Deputy Agriculture Minister, Dr. Goh Cheng Teik, the people should not take the Gerakan leaders’ statements and speeches seriously. Sometimes they talk to please the UMNO leaders, while at other times, they talk to pleace the Malaysian Chinese, but they do not have a principled stand!

We in the DAP mean what we say, and say what we mean. There is an opposition party which was formed with one objective, to destroy the DAP and its leaders. It is even holding ceramahs where it spends more time running down DAP than the Barisan Nasional.

Yet, now and then, it would claim that it would like to co—operate with the DAP.

The DAP has no time for these political – jokesters.

Especially in this period when the general elections is approaching, the Party leadership would demand a greater discipline in the Party.

The DAP Central Executive Committee has formed a new Disciplinary Committee comprising Sdr. Chian Heng Kai, DAP National Organising Secretary, as Chairman, and Sdr. Dr. Tan Seng Giaw, DAP Vice Chairman and Sdr. P. Patto, Deputty Secretary—General as members.

The DAP Central Executive Committee has specially entrusted the DAP Disciplinary Committee with the task of drawing up special disciplinary guidelines to instil greater discipline in the Party, and the DAP CEC had given the sciplinary Committee full disciplinary powers to take action against all foms of party indiscipline.