Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, at a DAP ceramah held at Kampar, Perak on Saturday, 11.1.1986 at 8 pm
DAP calls on Minister of Horme Affairs, Datuk Musa Hitam, to take firm action against teachers who break up family and homes by coercing underaged Chinese girl students to embrace Islam and removing them from the parents lawful custody
I call on the Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Musa Hitam, to take firm and stern action against teachers who break up family and homos by coercing underagad Chinese girl under their influence to embrace Islam and removing them from the lawful custody of their parents.
This must be regarded as an act of religious extracism which threaten the inter-racial harmony in the country, which the government must take action.
Such teachers should be sacked from the education service, for instead of setting an example to student a about the importance of promoting unity, they are openly formatting disunity and discord in the country.
I had two days ago given an ultimatum that unless the 16-year-old girl student, Ng Yee Kuan, who had been taken away from her parents since the last day of the November school term on Nov.15, 1985, is returned, a writ of habeas corpus would be filed in Kota Bahru on Wednesday seeking her release and restoration to her parents.
There are now three days left, and I hope that the Kelantan Mentri Besar, Datuk Mohamed Yakob, would discharge his responsibility to put a stop to such disruptive activities by teacher in Kelantan, and see to it that Ng Yee Kuan is returned to her family and home immediately.
The former Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik, must be condemned by the Chinese community for the Ng Yee Kuan case took place during his term of office in the Education Minister, but Datuk Dr.Ling had shown no interest or concern about such happenings.
In Petaling Jaya a few months ago, a Chinese girl student was taken away from her home by her Muslim teacher and converted into Islam without parental knowledge or consent on the day she reached 18 years. Although legally, the girl student has reached the age of majority and could legally decide without parental consent, such incidents must be condemned as anti-national, and teachers who are responsible for such actions should also be disciplined.
DAP is DAP’s second front-line state
The general elections is not far away, and in the coming general elections, the DAP will be giving Perak and Penang the priority attention. This is why the DAP had designated Perak as the second front-line state after Penang for the next polls.
The DAP will seek to regain the seats lost in the 1982 general elections and also to make inroad into areas highdato Barisan strongholds.
There will be attempts to disrupt and destroy the party, and blacken the image of the DAP. The people must know that just before the elections, a lot of lies and falsehoods would be spread about the Party and its leaders. For instance, there are those who are spreading that there is a power struggle in Perak DAP as to who is to be named the Mentri Besar of Perak. There will be more lies and falsehoods as the general elections get nearer.