by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Friday, 14th March, 1986:
Call on Prime Minister to issue a final warning to USNO and Berjaya leaders to stop their campaign of agitation to create unrest and turmoil in Sabah or face the full rigours of the law against the two parties as well as their leaders
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, yesterday challenged me to prove my statement in Parliament on Wednesday that the latest spate of demonstrations and bomb explasions were part of a plan to get the Federal Government to take over Sabah and declare emergency rule.
The objective of the latest agitation and escalation of unrest, insecurity, instability and tension through demonstrations, bomb explosions, arson, which had already caused the loss of lives and damage to property and fear, is very clear of everyone, inside and outside Malaysia. I will be very shocked about Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir’s political acumen if he does not know it himself – except that he does not want to admit it. But USNO AND Berjaya had already shown their hands by calling for Federal intervention and take-over!
I have seen twice the same pattern of events developing in order to create the conditions of unrest, turmoil tension and fear to allow the Federal Government to declare emergency rule and take over, namely in Kelantan in 1977 and in Sarawak in 1967. I do not want to see a third repeat of such ‘artificial engineering’ of emergency conditions to enable the Federal Government to take over state rule.
Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir should stop playing ‘Barisan politics’ in the Sabah situation, but exercise his powers and responsibilities to halt the irresponsible politicians in Sabah from continuing with their plot to engineer unrest and tension and Federal take over and emergency rule.
The Prime Minister should issue a final warning to the USNO and Berjaya leaders to stop their irresponsible conspiracy of agitation and escalation of unrest, tension and instability, or face the full rigours of the authority and the law against the two political parties as well as their leaders.
For the last 11 months, since the victory of the PBS to form the Sabah State Government, there had been a single-minded plot to destabilise and topple the PBS government by even unconstitutional means. The Prime Minister should present a White Paper to the current meeting of Parliament to expose this plot and conspiracy against the democratic system of government.
We must not show to the world that we have double-standards where certain political parties and leaders have the ‘Special Right’ to take the law into their own hands to agatate and escalate unrest, tension and fear through demonstrations, bomb explosions, arson, destruction of private and the injuring or taking of lives, to fulfil their political ambitions.
After the explosions and arson, where lives were lost and property damaged, it is not good for the Prime Minister just to say that Sabahans need not fear for their safety.
I have received distressed calls from the people of Sabah asking what the Prime Minister is doing in Perak when at this hour of trouble in Sabah, his presence is needed there.
The Prime Minister should temporarily put aside his pre-general election tour of various states in Peninsular Malaysia, and fly immediately to Sabah to deliver to the people of Sabah three firm assurances:
1. That the Federal Government would stamp out the plot and conspiracy to create tension, unrest, instability and fear to create conditions to invite and justify Federal take over and proclaim emergency rule of Sabah;
2. That, unless decided otherwise by the Courts, the Federal Government would not allow any plot or conspiracy to sabotage the holding of Sabah State General Elections, for this tantamount to surrender to the Law of the Jungle in Malaysia, where the electoral process and democratic rights of the people could be held to ransom or blackmail. Therefore, the Sabah State General Elections would be held without any delay or obstruction.
3. That the Federal Government would fully respect and abide by the democratic choice of the Sabahans in the Sabah State General Elections as to the party and candidate they want to elect to constitute the Sabah Legislatived Assembly and the Sabah State Government.
In his trip to Sabah, the Prime Minister should call a meeting of leaders of the Sabah political parties and impress on them, in particular USNO and Berjaya, the determination will and no-nonsense attitude of the Federal Government to uphold law and other, protect the democratic process and stay above inter-party contest at the Sabah State level.