Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP ceramah at Chendrong New Village on Wednesday, August 1, 1990 at 8 p.m.
General election may be held earlier than Sept 15
The next general elections may be held earlier than the September 15 date predicted by Semangat 46 President, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
One key to the past general elections is when the new 1990 Electoral Roll could be produced. The Election Commission is not expected to be able to produce the new 1990 Electoral Roll until the second half of August.
It is generally thought that if the new Electoral Roll is completed in the second half of August, it is unlikely that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, would dissolve Parliament until after National Day. Otherwise, Malaysia would be in the unique situation of celebrating her 33th National Day without a Parliament.
However, there is nothing in the law or the Constitution to prohibit the dissolution of Parliament before National Day, and for polling to take place after National Day – i.e. there is no law to say that National Day cannot be celebrated without a Parliament.
This will be most improper and unbecoming, but Dr. Mahathir would be one Prime Minister who is capable of doing the most improper and unbecoming things.
If the Prime Minister decides to hold general elections this year, I will not rule out completely the possibility of the dissolution of Parliament sometime in the end of August and polling in early September – provided the 1990 Electoral Register could be produced in time.
In this manner, Dr. Mahathir would hope to achieve an element of complete surprise!
The DAP Special Task Force on Allegations by Lee Kim Sai faction that the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, is not a ‘clean’ political leader will have its inaugural meeting next Tuesday
The MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, the MCA Deputy President, Datuk Lee Kim Sai, and all the other MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers are taking official leave to recover from the most scandalous and meaningless 13-day abortive Ling-Lee power struggle.
For the past four months, the MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers had completely neglected their public duties, using their position to prepare and fight what proved to be an abortive Ling-Lee battle.
If the MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers and leaders could fight with the same tenacity and commitment they showed in the Ling-Lee power struggle for the rights of the people, and in particular the Malaysian Chinese, then it would have been a blessing for Malaysia.
Unfortunately, the MCA is goof only for internal feuds, but utterly useless for external battles where it really matters.
I had given both Liong Sik and the Kim Sai factions three days to clear all the allegations made by the Kim Sai faction against Liong Sik for not being a ‘clean’ political leader.
Nobody has responded, and nobody is likely to respond. The Ling faction had not been able to give any satisfactory or convincing answers to the allegations made by the Lee Kim Sai faction to establish that Liong Sik is a clean and honest political leader, whose political integrity is beyond question.
The Kim Sai faction is unable to declare Liong Sik a clean and honest political leader unless it withdraws all its imputations and allegations made against Liong Sik. Only two days ago, one top lieutenant of the Lee faction, Datuk Kok Wee Kiat, declared in fact that he stood by every word that he had said about Liong Sik, and that he was no retracting any of his allegations.
The DAP Special Task Force on Allegations by the Lee Kim Sai faction that the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, is not a ‘clean’ political leader will holds its inaugural meeting next Tuesday and will decide how to go about restoring the dignity and self-respect of the Chinese community.