Lim Kit Siang to visit MCA headquarters on Tuesday at 2 p.m. to meet Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik on how to protect the best interests of the 50,398 KSM-MPHBIF unitholders

by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, March 24, 1990:

Lim Kit Siang to visit MCA headquarters on Tuesday at 2 p.m. to meet Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik on how to protect the best interests of the 50,398 KSM-MPHBIF unitholders

The 500,000 MCA members, and in particular the 50,398 KSM-MPHBIF unitholders, were expecting the MCA President, Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik, to use the occasion of the Selangor MCA 41st party anniversary dinner in Petaling Jaya last night to explain what the MCA leadership was doing to protect the best interests of the KSM-MPHBIF unitholders.

Instead, Dr.Ling reiterated his silly and baseless accusation that the DAP wanted to create an Islamic State by co-operation with PAS.

When the MCA President first made this silly and baseless accusation against the DAP at the 41st MCA party anniversary celebration two weeks ago on 11th March, I had given a strong reply to him to which Datuk Dr.Ling was unable to respond.

Dr.Mahathir has made Liong Sik looked a very foolish and half-baked political leader

Only last week, I pointed out that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr.Mahathir Mohamed, had within four days of the MCA President’s attack on the DAP, made Dr.Ling looked like a very foolish and half-baked political leader.

This was because the Prime Minister accused the DAP in Parliament of ‘playing with fire’ for co-operating with the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikkhism (MCCBCHS) in its nation-wide campaign to oppose any imposition of Islamic laws on non-Muslim Malaysians.

Even a three-year old child knows that the DAP cannot do two things at one and the same time-i.e. oppose any imposition of Islamic laws on non-Muslim Malaysians (what Dr.Mahathir chose to describe as ‘playing with fire’) on the one hand and work with PAS to create an Islamic State on the other.

It can only be one or the other. Or both allegations can be untrue, but it is impossible that both allegations are true. As far as the Barisan Nasional is concerned, it is either Mahathir’s allegation or Liong Sik’s allegation which is the correct one.

Kit Siang gives priority to the problem of 50,398 KSM-MPHBIF unitholders and reserve reply to Liong Sik
As Liong Sik has never dared to say that Mahathir could ever be wrong, the Barisan Nasional must officially be adopting the Mahathir allegation- which means what Liong Sik is saying about DAP wanting to create an Islamic State is regarded as nonsense by the Barisan Nasional leadership itself.

I want to reply to Liong Sik’s renewed attack on the DAP for wanting to establish an Islamic State with PAS in his PJ speech last night. But I have decided to give priority to the problem of the 50,398 KSM-MPHBIF unitholders and to restrain myself from replying to Liong Sik’s PJ speech at least until afert Wednesday, 28th March 1990.
This is because the primary responsibility of Liong Sik and the MCA leadership is not to play politics and churn out baseless accusations against the DAP for wanting to establish an Islamic State, but to protect the rights and interests of the 50,398 KSM-MPHBIF unitholders, who have proved that they are even more loyal than the national leaders to the MCA by investing in the KSM and MPHB for as long as ten years.

MCA leaders interested only in playing politics or corporate games sacrificing the interests of the KSM and the unitholders.

For these ten years, their loyalty to MCA, KSM and MPHBIF had not been rewarded by the MCA national leaders, who were more interested in either playing politics or playing corporate games, resulting in several top MCA national leaders ending up in jail for criminal breach of trust. As a result, the interests of KSM and the unitholders have been sacrificed.

Now, the KSM-MPHBIF is to be dissolved, and the MCA national leadership is not doing anything to ensure that the 50,398 unitholders get the nest possible deal after 10 years of loyalty to MCA, KSM and MPHB.

At this stage, I am more interested in defending and high-lighting the rights and interests of 50,398 unitholders, and to remind Liong Sik and the MCA national leadership of their responsibility to them, than to reply to their silly and baseless charges about DAP wanting to create an Islamic State. I will KIV Liong Sik’s baseless charges in his PJ speech for the next few days.

On 19th March, 1990, the Receivers of KSM took out an advertisement in the local press to give notice to all KSM-MPHBIF unitholders that the Receivers had on 12th March made an application to the Kuala Lumpur High Court to amend the Regulations of the Fund to “provide for the rules and procedures for the proper and orderly dissolution of the Fund”.

Six Unitholders can dissolve the Fund of 50,398 unitholders

The salient points of the proposed amendments are:

*A meeting for the purpose of dissolving the Fund may be called by the Manager or Registered Holders (representing no less than 10% in number of the Registered Holders or they hold no less than one-tenth of the total Investment Units).

*At least 21 days’ notice shall be given to the Registered Holders for such a meeting.

*The quorum for the meeting is set at a minimum number of 10 Registered Holders or 1% of the total number of Registered Holders for the time being of the Fund (whichever is the lower number).

*The resolution to dissolve the Fund shall be decided by poll. The Fund be dissolved if at least, a majority in number holding more than 50% in value of the total Investment Fund Units of Registered Holders present and voting (whether in person or by proxy) at the meeting or adjourned meeting, agree to dissolve the Fund.

*After the Registered Holders have approved the dissolution, the Manager shall arrange to distribute in specie one (1) Ordinary Share of $1.00 each in MPHB for every one Investment Unit held by the Registered Holders. The distribution of shares in MPHB will be made upon the return of the Investment Unit Certificates by the Registered Holders to KSM as Manager, for cancellation. A processing fee of 2 sen for every one Investment Unit will be charged by KSM to the Registered Holders.

Mr.Ooi Ang Seng and Madam Wong Koon Yin should step forward into the public to introduce themselves

In the Notice, the KSM Receivers announced that they have also failed an application with the Kuala Lumpur High Court by way of a Summons-in-Chambers for an order that two Uniholders, namely Mr.Ooi Ang Seng and Madam Wong Koon Yin, will represent all the 50,398 Unitholders in the court action, and that the hearing of the summons-in-chambers would take place in the morning of Wednesday, 28th March 1990.

As a first step, both Mr.Ooi Ang Seng and Madam Wong Koon Yin should step forward into the public to let the 50,398 unitholders decide for themselves whether they have full trust and confidence to let both of them to represent their collective interests amounting to 14739 million PMHB shares, which is a 19.7 per cent stake in MPHB.

From the above Notice of the KSM Receivers, it would mean that theoretically, six KSM-MPHBIF unitholders will be able to dissolve the Fund which had a total of 50,398 unitholders- as the quorum for a meeting to dissolve the Fund is “a minimum of 10 registered holders”.

I asked Liong Sik two sets totalling 14 questions about the KSM-MPHBIF and the MCA’s role in resolving the issue, and how to ensure that the best interests of the unitholders are protected but the MCA President had either failed to reply or failed to give a satisfactory answer.

He had instead invited me to give how any views as to how best to look after the interests of the 50,398 unitholders.

I had announced yesterday that I am accepting his incitation and I am prepared to meet him even in the MCA headquarters for the interests of the 50,398 unitholders. As time is very short in view of the application by the Receivers to the High Court on Wednesday, 28th March 1990, for a court order that Mr.Ooi Ang Seng and Madam Wong Koon Yin represent all the 50,398 unitholders, I propose going to the MCA Headquarters on Tuesday, 27th March 1990 at 2 p.m. to meet and discuss with Liong Sik on how best to protect the interests of the 50,398 unitholders. I hope to meet not only Liong Sik, but also ther other MCA national leaders, for the sake of the 50,398 KSM-MPHBIF unitholders.