by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, January 25, 1986:
Final warning to MCA to halt its baseless and irresponsible attacks on DAP for Tan Koon Swan’s arrest in Singapore, or the DAP will launch political counterattacks nation wide
In its attempt to divert public attention on the reasons for the arrest in Singapore of MCA President, Tan Koon Swan, the MCA has decided to ‘politicise’ the issue, and to work up emotions the MCA members and hopefully among the Malaysian Chinese.
It is MCA’s right to want to ‘politicise’ the Tan Koon Swan arrest, by organising demonstrations condemning the Singapore Government and in particular Lee Kuan Yew of a plot to destroy Tan Koon Swan, or even to threaten an economic boycott of Singapore goods and services. It is for the people to judge whether the MCA is acting rationally, responsibily in its attempt to politicise the Tan Koon Swan arrest, as by burning Lee Kuan Yew’s effigy, the Singapore flag, etc. hoping to strain Malaysia-Singapore relations, for this will demonstrate whether the new MCA leaders are mature and far-sighted political leaders or ‘political pygmies’ who cannot differentiate between charges of corporate crimes from politics.
By the present MCA logic, MCA should have also conducted protest demonstrations and burnt the British flag and the effigy of Margaret Thatcher when George Tan was arrested and arraigned in Hong Kong a Malaysian Chinese in 1983 in connection with the $2.5 billion BMF scandal.
But if the new MCA leadership chooses to flaunt its immaturity and irresponsibility as a result of the arrest of Tan Koon Swan in Singapore, it is their prerogative. They can continue to demonstrate and denounce the Singapore Government and Lee Kuan Yew as much as they want for the DAP does not hold a watching brief for the Singapore authorities.
However, the DAP cannot remain silent to the attempt by the MCA to drag in the DAP into the issue. In the last three days, the MCA through its various MCA and MCA youth branches, demonstrations, statements, banners have been accusing the ESP, and me in particular, of ‘conspiring’ with Lee Kuan Yew to ‘persecute’ Tan Koon Swan. In some accustations, I was charged of being the ‘mastermind’ for the Singapore arrest of Tan Koon Swan to destroy the political future of the Malaysian Chinese.
I am not going to brook such irresponsible politiking by the new MCA leadership. I am giving the MCA a 24-hour final warning that unless it issues a directive, and ensures full compliance of its directive, to stop making such irresponsible, defamatory and completely baseless attacks on the DAP and myself, the DAP will launch an immediate political counter-attack on the MCA over the Tan Koon Swan affair.
Such a political counter-attack will include the holding of nation-wide ceramahs to explain to the people Tan Koon Swan’s Pan El Scandal, with all its ramifications and implications to the people in Malaysia.
If after the expiry of the 24-hour deadline, these baseless attacks on the DAP and myself for being a party to a plot with Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew to get Tan Koon Swan arrested is not halted by MCA, its leaders, branches and members, as well as by its controlled media, the party will announce the formation of a National Committee on Tan Koon Swan’s Pan El Scandal and give details of its plan and programme of activities.