Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, to Balik Pulau DAP Branch leaders and supporters in Balik Pulau on Sunday,6th May 1990 at p.m.
DAP supports the candidature of Parti Rakyat Secretary-General, Dr. Sanusi Osman, as the Opposition candidate for Balik Pulau in next general elections
DAP and Semangat 46 leaders will meet in Kuala Lumpur next week for further talks about the next general elections, which will include discussions on the question of closer co-operation between DAP and Semangat 46, whether there should be a common manifesto and the allocation of seats.
I hope that an sgreement on the allocation of seats between the DAP and Semangat 46 could be reached and resolved by this month, as general elections should be held on the second date that I had predicted recently, i.e. in August this year.
For the Balik Pulau parliamentary seat, the DAP will support the candidature of the Parti Rakyat Secretary General, Dr. Sanusi Osman.
As I said at the DAP Balik Pulau Branch anniversary dinner last November, the DAP plans to contest in both the Bayan Lepas and Teluk
Bahang state seats in the next general elections.
I saw a PAS leaflet of a PAS ceramah to be held in Balik Pulau tomorrow, which could give the impression that there is co-operation between DAP and PAS, and which the Gerakan is sure to exploit and capitalise.
This PAS leaflet, which printed the Rocket symbol of DAP as well as the Moon symbol of PAS, is intended to publicise that the PAS ceramah will address the issue as to whether there is co-operation between DAP and PAS. However, the leaflet could easily be distorted by both Gerakan and MCA into giving the impression and the lie that there is in fact co-operation between DAP and PAS.
I have declared that the DAP has had no meeting, under-standing, co-operation or any other form of relationship with PAS, and the Jakarta secret meeting between DAP and PAS concocted by Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lin Keng Yaik, is a downright lie.
PAS should be more realistic and realize that in a multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia, there is no way whereby an Islamic State could be established.
If PAS persists in wanting to establish an Islamic State, then it would not be able to get any support from any Chinese or Indian voter.
There are 19 Parliamentary constituencies in Peninsular Malaysia where the Chinese voters constitute 10-20 per cent of the electorate, and 26 Parliamentary constituencies where the Chinese voters constitute seats where the Indian voters constitute 10 to 20 per cent of the electorate, and 7 Parliamentary constituencies where Indian voters represent 20 to 30 per cent of the voters.
PAS will lose out in all these Parliamentary constituencies, where the non-Malay votes are marginal voters, if it insists that a vote for PAS is a vote for Islamic State.
I have said that the DAP has had no meeting or co-operation with PAS President, Fadzil Noor and the PAS Deputy President, Haji Hadi Awang, to explain to them why an Islamic State is not only unsuitable for a plural society like Malaysia, but why it is impossible to establish an Islamic State in Malaysia as the Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans and all non-Islamic religions (including the majority of the Malays themselves) will never agree to it.
Malaysian politics will be healthier is PAS can understand that its Islamic State objective cannot be achieved in Malaysia. If DAP can help to make the PAS leaders understand this political reality in Malaysia, I believe it will be a great contribution to Malaysian politics.