Press Conference Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary – General, MP for Tanjung and Assemblymen for Kampong Kolam, Lim Kit Siang, in Ipoh on Monday, 22.9.1986 at 12 noon.
Call on Daim Zainuddin to confirm whether his family’s 51% UMBC shares are being negotiated for sale to Pernas at $8.50 per share.
Finance Minister, Daim Zainuddin’s explanation on the circumstances in which his family companies required first 41 per cent of UMBC shares in 1984 and then increased the stake to 51% in 1985, failed to convince Malaysians that there has been no conflict of interest between his official position and this family’s private interest.
In various meetings with government company directors and officials, Daim Zainuddin has stressed the importance of public integrity. As Finance Minister, Daim Zainuddin should set the example whereby he is prepared to allow his own private transactions, or that of his family, to be publicity scrutinized to ensure that there is no room for my suspicion that there is my conflict of interest.
As Daim Zainuddin has given a most unsatisfactory explanation about the acquisition of UMBC shares by his family concerns, Daim Zainuddin is duty-bound to submit himself to a parliamentary inquiry committee or a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate fully into the various UMBC transactions.
Such an inquiry should inquire into:
Firstly, whether there had been any conflict of interest in the first 1984 transaction whereby the two Daim Zainuddin family companies acquired 41 per cent UMBC shares, as the government approval was given at the time Daim Zainuddin was already Finance Minister;
Secondly, whether there was again conflict of interest when the Government approved the Daim Zainuddin family companies to expand their stake in UMBC from 41 per cent to 51 per cent in 1985.
Thirdly, Daim Zainuddin should clarify whether it is true that his family companies are now negotiating with Pernas to dispose of the 51% UMBC shares at $ 8.50 per shares, and if true, to justify such a high price quoted for the sale of the UMBC shares to Pernas. It must be Borns in mind that when Pernas pays the Daim Zainuddin family companies for $8.50 per share, it would be the taxpayers who will be paying the money.
The DAP demands that before Pernas is allowed to buy the 51 per cent UMBC for a price in the region of $8.50 per share, the public must be satisfied that this is a fair price to be paid by the taxpayers.
I must warn the Cabinet not to again rush through approval of the sale of 51 percent of UMBC shares owned by Daim Zainuddin companies to Pernas, when the Finance Minister is out of the country, for them the entire Cabinet, including all UMNO, MCA Gerakan and MIC Ministers, must be held responsible individually and collectively for all the UMBC transactions.
Challenge to Megat Junid to name the two social groups having links with the international Zionist movement or be exposed as a rumour and scandal-monger of the first order.
In the recent UMNO General Assembly as well as before, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mahathir Mohamad, and other UMNO leaders had been making strong accusations against what they called the ‘rumour-mongers’ and ‘ scandal-mongers’. But they have not been able to prove that any Opposition leader or party or public interest group had been spreading rumours or inventing scandals.
But there is now proof that the real rumour-mongers or scandal-mongers are the UMNO leaders themselves. The Prime Minister, together with other UMNO leaders, had been accusing groups and even opposition parties or being tools of Zionist conspiracy to undermine the stability of Malaysia.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister, DAtuk Megat Junid Megat Ayub, said the Home Ministry suspects at least two social groups of having links with the international Zionist movement, and said that some members might be getting cash from abroad to write articles or to make statements criticizing the Government.
As Deputy Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Megat Jumid should name the two social groups having links with the international Zionist movement, or stand exposed as a rumour and scandal-monger of the first order.
I want to tell Datuk Megat Junid that the DAP suspects that at least two groups in UMNO have links with the international Russian Communist conspiracy to further the Soviet expansionist aims at world hegemony, and that some of the leaders of these two groups in may be getting cash from abroad to write articles or make speeches furthering the abuse of Russian communist objectives in South East Asia in particular and Asia Pacific as a whole.
Is the Home ministry prepared to investigate thoroughly the links such international Russian Communist conspiracy, through their network of RGB in Malaysia, are forging with UMNO leaders?
DAP commands Ghaffar Baba for making sober statements
In the part few days, the speeches and statements at the UMNO and UMNO Youth General Assemblies raise serious questions whether there can be unity, harmony and stability in Malaysia, for the speeches were the most extremist in the recent history of UMNO Assemblies.
I commend the Deputy Prime Minister, Ghaffar Baba, for making a sober and rational statement yesterday, when he returned to reality and spoke of the importance to regain domestic and international confidence in Malaysia, and to attract foreign investment as soon as possible.
I hope the other UMNO leaders are as aware as Ghaffar Baba, who said that the foreign would only invest in Malaysia if the conditions were suitable.
There is no doubt that the spare of extremist, chauvinist and ultra speeches delivered by UMNO leaders and delegates over the past few days have made those ‘suitable conditions’ for foreign investment over less attractive.
I just cannot understand the UMNO and Barisan leadership on the one hand, trying hard to attract domestic and foreign investment, on the other hand, allowing extremist speeches and actions which can only frighten off confidence for domestic and foreign investment. It makes me wonder whether Dr. Mahathir and the Cabinet are in full control of the situation in Malaysia.
For instance, one UMNO Youth delegate even threatened to put pressure on the Government to abolish Chinese primary schools, if Section 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act is amended.
This UMNO Youth had committed clear sedition. The amendment and repeal of Section 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act will be in keeping with the Constitutional spirit and guarantee for mother-tongue education in Malaysia; while the threat to abolish Chinese primary schools will be to violate the ‘sensitive’ issue which prohibit anyone from questioning the ‘entrenched’ rights of Malaysian.
When this UMNO Youth delegate made this threat at the UMNO General assembly, he should have been pulled up by the UMNO leadership and told to withdraw his statement or face police persecution.
The UMNO leadership did no such thing, condoning such extremist statement.
What would b the UMNO’s reaction if in a MCA or Gerakan Delegates’ Conference, a delegate had stood up and threatened that if UMNO wanted to extend the New Economic policy after 1990, they would put pressure on the Government to abolish Malay special rights?