by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Malacca on Saturday, March 15, 1986:
DAP challenge to Rais Yatim to a series of TV debates on the BMF Final Report to justify the Minister’s allegations that the Report was ‘lopsided’, unfair and lack credibility
The Minister for Information and UMNO Information Chief, Datuk Rais Yatim, alleged in Johore Bahru yesterday that the BMF Final Report of the Ahmad Nordin Inquiry Committee was ‘unfair’, ’lop-sided’ and lack credibility, and that Tan Sri Ahmad Nordin was not a ‘hero’ as many thought.
He said UMNO would launch a nation-wide drive to explain to all party divisions about the BMF Final Report after the party had carried out a ‘post-mortem’ on the Report.
It is Datuk Rais Yatim who is being unfair and lop-sided in his comment on the BMF Final Report, and as a result what he says lack credibility.
The DAP challenges the UMNO leaders, especially Datuk Rais Yatim to a series of TV debates on the BMF Final Report to justify their claim that the Report was lop-sided, unfair and lack credibility. If the UMNO Ministers are so confident of their case, then they should have no fear for such a series of TV debates on the BMF Final Report.
But I doubt that the UMNO Ministers would dare to take up the DAP challenge to a series of TV debates on the BMF Final Report, because they know they would not be able to win the open argument and debate in front of all Malaysians.
Datuk Rais and UMNO Ministers should stop going round the country misleading UMNO divisions and the people about the BMF Final Report. If UMNO Divisions are only a one-sided, lop-sided version of the BMF Report, clearly the UMNO Ministers has got things to hide.
DAP welcome Prime Minister’s April visit to Sabah
I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement in Ipoh that he will visit Sabah next month. The Prime Minister had earlier taken off Sabah from his current series of state visits.
I would have preferred the Prime Minister to fly to Sabah state immediately, instead of waiting until April. I also do not see why the Cabinet have to wait until its weekly meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Sabah situation, instead of convening a Special Cabinet meeting immediately in view of the open and systematic defiance of the law to create tension, fear and instability in Sabah.
The Prime Minister should assume responsibility to defuse the tension, fear, insecurity and instability in Sabah State by impressing on all political parties and their leaders, in particular USNO and Berjaya, that they are not a ‘law unto themselves’ and would have to abide by the law and Constitution of the country and Sabah.
The Election Committee should also stop dragging its feet in fixing and announcing the date for the Sabah State general elections. It should realise that its recent unusual conduct in postponing decision on the election dates in Sabah has done a lot of harm to undermine the Commission’s image of independence and impartiality. This is because the commission appeared to be waiting for the ‘green light’ from the political higher-ups before fixing the dates for the Sabah general elections.
I have received reports that Filipino refugees and illegal Indonesian immigrants had been involved in the current spate of demonstrations and activities in Sabah aimed at manufacturing tension, instability, fear and insecurity to invite and justify Federal take over and emergency rule.
This is most shocking and would have far reaching consequences if not nipped in the bud. We cannot allow illegal foreign nationals, whether Filipino refugees and or illegal Indonesian immigrants (whom I estimate to total 400,000 alone in Sabah), to interfere with our political process and future.
I call on the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Haniff Omar, who is supposed to visit Sabah today, to pay special attention to this aspect of the present campaign of agitation.
If Filipino refugees are allowed to take part in political demonstrations in Sabah, it will not be long before illegal Indonesian immigrants will also be taking part in political demonstration in Peninsular Malaysia!