Speech by DAP Secretary-General, Parliamentary Candidate for Tanjong, and State Assembly Candidate for Kampong Kolam, Lim Kit Siang, at a ceramah Kuala Kangsar Road at Tuesday, 29th July 1986 at 11 a.m.
Call on Penang voters to vote solidly for DAP for both Parliament and State tp bring in a DAP State Government
Barisan Nasional, and in particular Gerakan, campaign workers are experts in trying to persuade the Penang voters to cost spilt votes whereby Parliament goes for DAP and State goes to them.
This time, the voters of Penang should vote for the DAP solidly for both Parliament and State Assembly, to give the DAP a chance to form the next Penang State Government.
In 1969, the people of Penang said ‘Enough is Enough’, and threw out the Alliance Government after 12 years. It is now time for the people of Penang to again say ‘Enough is Enough’ and throw out the Gerakan and Barisan Nasional State Government after an even longer period 17 years.
I call on Koh Tsu Koon to conduct a clear fair, honest and gentlemanly campaign in Tanjong. The voters must not be threatened or blackmail with May 13 if they vote for the Opposition. There should be no smear or character assassination campaign in trying to destroy the image of the opposing candidate. Money should not be used to the extent that the elections become a contest of money than anything else.
When Dr.Mahathir threatened the people with May 13, he is not uttering the blackmail for himself only, but on behalf of every Barisan Nasional candidate, including Koh Tsu Koon.
I call on the Prime Minister, Dr.Mahathir Mohamed, to come out with a clear-cut statement that the Malaysian voters have free and full right to vote the party, candidate and state government of their choice, that the Federal Government and all the security forces would see to it that there would be no trouble.
It is the duty of the Prime Minister to see to it and to announce it clearly that they could vote freely without fear, so that democracy can be seen to be working.
How can Dr.Mahathir threaten the voters with May 13? He is doing what irresponsible political leaders had tried to do in Sabah for 12 months, especially in March, trying to cow and intimidate the Sabah voters to vote for Barisan Nasional.
As a result, Dr.Mahathir and the Barisan Nasional are now so unpopular that although the PBS has joined the Barisan Nasional, Dr.Mahathir’s personal picture posters are not being used in Sabah, and Dr.Mahathir dare not show his face in Sabah.
If Dr.Mahathir show his face in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan or Tawau, the Barisan Nasional will lose even more votes. This is because the people of Sabah had decided that ‘Enough is Enough’ with the politics of blackmail, intimidation and fear.
I call on Dr.Mahathir to issue a clear announcement that the people can choose whoever they want, as is their right, and that definitely there would be no problem, for this is what the police and security forces are for. If he cannot unable or is unwilling to give such a clear cut statement, then Dr.Mahathir Mohamed is not fit to continue as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
In Tanjong, Dr.Koh Tsu Koon’s campaign has degenerated into a personal attack on me, accusing me of all sorts of heinous crimes and motives. I will not return in kind, smear for smear, character-assassination for character-assassination. I continue to state that Koh Tsu Koon is a good young man who is in the wrong party, who has no choice but to support all the wrong and bad policies of UMNO and Barisan Nasional.
In October 1982 in Parliament, for instance, Koh Tsu Koon voted in Parliament in full support for Barisan Nasional’s ‘One Language, One Culture’ Policy, when the DAP was the only voice in Parliament to oppose such a policy. The DAP made it clear that we will never compromise with a ‘One Language, One Culture’ Policy, and demand a Policy of Many Languages and Many Cultures for Malaysia.
Again in November 1982, Koh Tsu Koon, together with Barisan Minister and MPs, rejected the DAP motion for illegal Indonesian immigrants to be severely dealt with and deported out of the country. If my 1982 motion on illegal Indonesian immigrants had been accepted, the illegal immigrant problem will not be so serious today, and they are now estimated to represent some 10 per cent of our population of about 1.5 million.
In March 1983, Koh Tsu Koon ‘sabotaged’ the attempt by DAP MP for Sibu, Ling Sie Ming, to repeal section 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act, by ensuring that no time is given for the motion to be debated.
I can go on for a long time to show that although Koh Tsu Koon did speak up in Parliament, but on basic policy issues, he not only cannot oppose them, he must help UMNO and Barisan but, it is clearly the larger and long term interests of the people, in particular the five million Malaysian Chinese.
I have been accused in the Kon Tsu Koon election campaign of virtually being a traitor to the Chinese race and corrupt in receiving $5 million or these amount from Esso to settle the Esso defamation case out of court.
The crime they accuse me is ‘Use Chinese to Control Chinese’. I have already explained yesterday that there are three parties in this strategy, a master-mind of another race using this strategy of having puppet Chinese to control the Chinese people.
I challenge Koh Tsu Koon to state clearly who is this ‘mastermind’ who is using me for this ‘Use Chinese to Control Chinese strategy? Is he referring to Dr.Mahathir Mohamed? If Dr.Mahathir is using the ‘Use Chinese to Control Chinese’ strategy, why is Koh Tsu Koon prepared to be a Barisan Nasional parliamentary candidate who must take directives from Dr.Mahathir Mohamed?
The Koh Tsu Koon campaign accused me of being corrupt, of having received $5 million or so from Esso to settle the Esso defamation case out of court. I have explained in Parliament the whole circumstances of the case. Koh Tsu Koon was in Parliament and should know the explanation, which is reproduced in my latest book, ‘Malaysia-Crisis of Identity’.
Koh Tsu Koon should be a gentleman, and if he has reason to believe that I have received a single cent over the Esso case, should have the courage to come out openly and say so.
I leave it to the people of Tanjong to decide whether I am like those, many of whom are to be found in the Barisan Nasional component parties, who are in politics to make money.
I believe that if I had wanted to make $5 million form Esso, I could have tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars from various quarters and sources long ago!
It has also been said that if I am elected in Tanjong, the people have to go to Kuala Lumpur or Malacca to see me. I feel sorry that the Koh Tsu Koon campaign has been reduced to such a low level.
I promise the people of Tanjong that I will be a 100 per cent Penangite on election as MP for Tanjong and Assemblyman for Kampong Kolam, in the same way that I became a 100 per cent Malaccan on election in Malacca. I am not originally from Malacca, but from Johore.
My 20 years of political struggle has been an open book, and I have nothing to hide. My conscience is very clear. I leave it to the people of Tanjong to be the judge as to whether I am an arch-villain and traitor of the Chinese race, or whether I have still political contribution to make for Malaysia, the people and in particular the five million Malaysian Chinese.