By parliamentary Opposition Leader. DAP Secretary General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday. 9th April 1991:
Liong Sik should know that the Malaysian Chinese want the Selangor Islamic Law Administration ^ amended and MCA has again failed then
The MCA President, Datuk Ling Liong Sik and the MCA national leadership has again failed the Malaysian Chinese in failing to amend the Selangor Islamic Law Administration Enactment (SILAR) in the Selangor Assembly.
How can the MCA President and the MCA national leader-ship allow the MCA Selangor Assemblymen to again agree to further amendments to the Selangor Islamic Law Administration Enactment as tabled in the current meeting of the Selangor Assembly, without amending Sections 67 and 70 of the Enactment which undermine and challenge the right of non-Muslim parents to unfettered guardianship custody and control of their children below 18 years?
So long as Sections 67 and 70 of the SILAE remain on the statute books, non-Muslim parents have to worry about their children below 18 years from forcible conversion to the Muslim faith without their consent or knowledge.
When the SILAE controversy first blew up in mid-1989. Liong Sik said that that this matter will be resolved and that the two sections would be repealed or amended. However, nothing has been done to date to fulfil this commitments by the MCA President.
As the Selangor Government has re-presented the SILAE to the Selangor Assembly for further amendments on other actions why didn’t the MCA national leadership take the opportunity to fulfil its undertaking and get Sections 67 and 70 amended to remove completely the pause of the fears and worries by non-Muslim parents over their children below 18 years?
Or will Liong Sik now claim that the MCA national leadership never knew that the Selangor Assembly was going to amend the SILAE, just as Liong Sik had earlier claimed that he and the MCA National leaders never knew that the Selangor Assembly was going to pass the SILAE in 1989!
Liong Sik and the MCA national leadership clearly do not know or understand the wants of the Malaysian Chinese. This is why they could not answer the question posed by UMNO leader asking what was it that the Chinese in Malaysian want.
This is why the MCA national leadership had to engage professional consultants to find out what the Malaysian Chinese want Unfortunately after six months, the MCA leaders are as much in the dark on this question as before.
Let me tell Liong Sik and the MCA national leadership that among the things the Chinese in Malaysia want is the amendment of Sections 67 and 70 of the SILAE. Why have the MCA, through its MCA Selangor Assemblymen, again failed the Malaysian Chinese?
Liong Sik owes the the people a full and public explains-tion. If Liong Sik had not been told about the Selangor Government’s amendment to SILAE without amending Sections 67 and 70 then he should take disciplinary action against the Selangor MCA Assemblymen and have them expelled from the MCA for again and again causing harassment to the MCA, and what is even serious, again and again failing the Malaysian Chinese.