By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary- General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Saturday, May31, 1986:
Gerakan only opposes MCA Scandals but not UMNO Scandals.
The statements by the Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, has made it very clear that the Gerakan is a seat-oriented party which subordinates its political principles and objectives whether it could get more seats or not.
Dr.Lim had said that Gerakan would want to contest the coming general elections under its own slogan could not be allocated fair number of Parliamentary State seats.
Dr. Lim had said that some component parties had become ‘Lame ducks’ because of the various scandals in which they are involved, implying that this would also be a burden and an embarrassment to Gerakan.
But Dr. Lim said in Kota Bahru yesterday that the Gerakan has no quarrel with UMNO or the Barisan in general, and it is only fighting the MCA.
What Dr. Lim means clearly is that Gerakan only oppose and object to the MCA scandals, like Pan EL and Multi-Purpose, but has no objection to the UMNO Scandals, like the BMF Scandal and the UMBC Scandal.
From Dr. Lim’s statements, it is clear that the Gerakan is also prepared to overlook, forgive or even accept the MCA scandals if the Gerakan is given a few extra Parliamentary and State Assembly seats.
It is indeed most sad and pitiful to see the Gearakan, which had been boasting of its political principles and its commitment to serve the people, openly treating politics as a whole-sale market, prepared to trade its political conscience and ideals for a few paltry parliamentary and state assembly seats.
Is this what the Gerakan’s political philosophy and the 1982 slogan ‘Attack into the Barisan Nasional to rectify the Barisan’ all all about: seats, seats and still seats?
Dr. Lim Keng Yaik had expressed support for Datuk Musa Hitam’s call for an assessment as to whether the Barisan Nasional’s 1982 election slogan ‘clean, efficient, and trustworthy’ government had been fulfilled. But what Dr. Lim was thining about are MCA’s deviations from this slogan, and not UMNO’s deviation, and this is why he said the Gerakan has no quarrel with UMNO.
As far as Dr. Lim and Gerakan are concerned, UMNO is all perfect and beyond criticism while MCA is all sinful, and beyond hope. Dr. Lim and Gerakan are being insincere and dishonest, for there is no doubt that UMNO is more guilty of deviating from the ‘clean, efficient and trustworthy’ motto than even MCA.
DAP suggested that Tan Sri Shmad Nordin be appointed to head public inquiry to asses whether the ‘Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy’ motto of Barisan Government had been fulfilled.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Ghaffar Baba, does not agree with Datuk Musa about the need to assess the ‘Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy’ motto od the Barisan Nasional government.
Ghaffar said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday that it is up to the people to b the judge whether the Barisan ‘Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy’ pledge had been successfully implemented.
Ghaffar is afraid that if there is a public assessment, the Barisan Nasional government would be found wanting, and to have fallen far short its 1982 election pledge.
This attitude itself would have violated the ‘trustworthy’ commitment of the government. I therefore call on the Deputy Prime Minister to pursue the need for a public assessment of whether the government had successfully implemented the clean, efficient and trustworthy pledge in Cabinet.
Tan Sri Ahmad Nordin, the retired Auditor-General, would be most eminent and qualifies Malaysian to head a public inquiry assess the success or failure of the government’s motto clean, efficient and trustworthy’ administration.
I challenge UMNO, MCA, Gerakan and MIC to decide are whether they support the DAP’s call for a public inquiry, by Tan Sri Ahmad Nordin, to assess the success r failure of the ‘clean, efficient and trustworthy’ motto of the government over the past four years.
Warning to Dr. Tan Tiong Hong to stop harassing Susie Teoh’s father, Teoh Eng Huat, and if he is really-concerned, get Attorney-General to intervene as a party in the Eupreme Court Appeal.
I have received the police reports that Datuk Dr. Tan Tiong Hong, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, through Public Complaints Bureau, and other departmental officials are continuing to harass Susie Teoh’s father, Teoh Eng Huat, over its legal case to assert the parent’s right to determine the religion and education of his daughter. Susie Teoh was taken away from her family when she was 17 years 8 months, coerced to convert into Islam, and has since then disappeared.
Teoh Eng Huat has made it very clear in Kuala Lumpur and and Penang that he exercise the right to determine who are teo be his lawyers, without duress or interference from Dr. Tan Tiong Hong.
If Dr. Tan is sincere that he is concerned about the Susie Teod case, then he should use his influence to get firstly the police to locate the whereabouts of Susie Teoh, for it is that shocking that in Malaysia today, a minor could disappear so easily; and secondly get the Attorney General, Tan Sri Abu Talib to intervene in the Susie Teoh appeal at the Supreme Court on behalf of the Cabinet in the public interest.
Halsbury’s Laws of England (Forth Edition), VOL 8, pp. 791 made it very clear that The Attorney General has a right of intervention at the invitation or with the permission of the court in a private suit whenever it raises any question of public policy on which the executive may have a view which it may desire to bring to the notice of the court.
It is for this reason that I had suggested that MCA AND GERAKAN Ministers should raise this matter in the Cabinet and instruct the ATTORNEY GENERAL to intervene in the SUSIE TEOH CASE AT THE SUPREME COURT appeal.
The DAP will launch a nation-wide signature campaign beginning in Malacca on Monday to protest against the series of deprivation of the rights of parents to the custody of their children, where their family unit were broken up and their ngo sons and daughters taken away from them and coerced into Islam, and to demand a clear-cut amendment in the CONSTITUTION to spell out the rights of the parents to determine the religion of their children until 21 years.
This campaign, known as the Defend Parental and Family Unit Integrity Movement, should be supported by every parent and citizen so that the extremist forces which wanted to destroy family units, jeopardizing national harmony, inter-racial goodwill and inter-religion understanding, are crushed and not allowed to rear their ugly heads again.