by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Gopeng on Thursday, 14.5.1987:
Ghaffar Baba has cancelled his trip because Lee Kim Sai has been issuing ‘blank cheques’ which the Cabinet had never agreed to honour
The cancellation of the two-day Gopeng visit by Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President, Ghaffar Baba, is primarily because the MCA, and in particular MCA Deputy President and Labour Minster, Datuk Lee Kim Sai, has been issuing ‘blank cheques” which the Cabinet had never agreed to honour, and does not want to have to expose Datuk Lee Kim Sai’s deceit and dishonest by-election promises.
The best example of such MCA ‘blank cheques’ is the boast by Datuk Lee Kim Sai that once MCA nods its head, the 588,000 co-operative depositors would immediately get $600 million.
The DAP is very disappointed that Ghaffar Baba has cancelled his trip to Gopeng, for we want the Deputy Prime Minister to confirm Datuk Lee Kim Sai’s claim that once MCA nods, the government would allocate $600 million to the co-operative depositors.
It is significant that Datuk Lee’s $600 million claim is not even backed up by the other MCA Ministers, like Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, Datuk Chan Siang Sum and Ng Cheng Kiat.
To MCA and Datuk Lee Kim Sai, in partiular, a by-election in only a game and contest as to who can bluff most. The MCA, in its 30 years history, had always used the Malaysian Chinese for the advancement of the MCA leaders, rather than to protect the rights and welfare of the Chinese community.
The MCA Ministers in Cabinet, for instance, are a disgraceful lot, who dare not speak up and fight for the rights of the Malaysian Chinese or the Malaysian people, but mere ‘echo chambers’.
The MCA Ministers in Cabinet, for instance, are a disgraceful lot, who dare not speak up and fight for the rights of the Malaysian Chinese or the Malaysian people, but mere ‘echo chambers’/
This seems to be confirmed by the claim made by the Gerakan National Publicity Bureau Director, Dr. Kang Chin Seng, that Dr. Lim Keng Yaik is the Minister who speaks the most in Cabinet. It would appear that one Gerakan Minister is better than four MCA Ministers put together! From what Dr. Kang said, the four MCA Ministers collectively also cannot compare with the MIC Minister, Datuk Samy Vellu.
MCA Ministers should stop acting like lions in public, but mice in Cabinet!
There are ofcourse reasons why Ghaffar Baba has cancelled his Gopeng trip to campaign for the MCA Candidate.
One of them must be the MCA’s decision to fight the Gopeng by-election campaign on the platform of ‘Mr. Clean’, because this tantamoounts to an admission that the Barisan Nasional Government is facing a crisis of confidence among the people because of corruption.
The MCA seems to be suggesting that if Dr. Ting Chew Peh is not elected as Gopeng Mp, then the Barisan Nasional and the MCA will continue to be un-clean, corrupt and decadent.
It cannot be flattering to the Barisan Nasional Government when the MCA seems to be suggesting that for the first time in 30 years, the component parties of the Barisan Nasional are fielding a candidate who could be described as ‘Mr. Clean’. This implies that up to now, all the Ministers, deputy Ministers and MPs do not qualify as Mr. Clean!
Another reason for Ghaffar Baba cancelling his Gopeng trip is that he must have received reports that the MCA’s Candidate is not the ideal ‘Mr. Clean’ had collapsed in three short days.
The MCA election strategists, headed by Datuk Lee Kim Sai, devised the Mr. Clean strategy believing that this is a sure-winner.
Any experienced political worker would have told Datuk Lee that this strategy is bound to fail and boomerang, for all political leaders are expected to be ‘Mr. Clean’ when they stand for public office.
In any event, the corruption and scandals in the Barisan Nasional Government are not going to end one but, even if there is one Mr. Clean elected as MCA Mp, for it is the entire government system and leadership that must be cleaned up!
The MCA knows that its credibility is so low, that it cannot depend on the MCA’s name to pull votes, but depend on a ‘Mr. Clean’ who is painted as perfect, represents everything that is good, virtuous and honest. When Dr. Ting is not the ‘Mr. Clean’ that the MCA election strategy pictures him, then the whole strategy collapsed!
Development is a right of every taxpayer in Gopeng, and if the MCA fails to honour all the promises it made in the by-election, then the Gopeng voters should vote out the two MCA Assemblymen in Gopeng next round
In the Gopeng by-election, MCA Ministers and leaders claimed that if the MCA candidate is elected, he would be able to bring development to Gopeng.
Development is a right of every taxpayer in Gopeng and should not be used as a blackmail to threaten the people to vote for MCA.
In the last general elections, 80 per cent of the Malaysian Chinese voted against the MCA and supported the DAP. Is the MCA openly telling UMNO that these 80 per cent of the Malaysian Chinese should be ‘punished’ and denied development? If this is the MCA stand, then MCA is not ‘Malaysian Chinese Association’ but ‘Sell Chinese Association’!
In the Gopeng parliamentary constituency, there are two MCA Assemblyman, one of whom is a State Executive Council. The Gopeng people must hold the MCA fully responsible for fulfilling all its by-election promises on development in Gopeng, even if the candidate elected is from the DAP. If the MCA fails to fulfil all its by-election promises on constituency development, then in the next general elections, the Gopeng voters should vote out the two MCA Assemblyman in Teja and Chenderong state seats.
Why should the voter always be threatened by the MCA? For a change, the voters should threaten the MCA back!