by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Thursday, May 16, 1991:
Mahathir’s first comment has proved that Liong Sik had completely misled the public and his own party when he claimed that top UMNO leaders had ‘discussed, understood and accepted’ the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City proposal.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, yesterday made his first public comment on the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City proposal when he returned from his two-week holiday overseas.
As the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, had claimed that the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City had been ‘discussed, understood and accepted’ by the top UMNO leadership, but which was specifically denied by both the UMNO Secretary-General, Datuk Mohamed Rahmat and the UMNO Youth Leader, Datuk Najib Tun Razak, everyone wanted to know the truth from Dr. Mahathir.
At the Subang international airport on his return yesterday, Dr. Mahathir said he had not studied the MCA’s proposal for a Malaysian Chinese Cultural City, but added that “if an action would adversely affect unity in a multi-racial country, it is best that it be studied first.”
Dr. Mahathir’s first comment on the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City, denying knowledge of the MCA’s proposal, has proved that Liong Sik had completely misled the public as well as his own party when he claimed that top UMNO leaders had ‘discussed, understood and accepted’ the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City proposal.
The implication of Dr. Mahathir’s further comments would indicate that he is not favourably disposed towards the MCA proposal.
The people just cannot understand how the MCA President and the most senior MCA Cabinet Minister can openly make such a untrue statement. Liong Sik must give an explanation of his false claim that ‘top UMNO leaders had discussed, understood and accepted’ the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City proposal, or nobody is going to believe what he say in future.
MCA leadership must make clear their commitment to proceed with the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City project before trying to raise $5 million from public.
I am very surprised that MCA leaders are proceeding to raise $5 million from the public for the Chinese Cultural City.
The MCA top leadership must make clear their commitment to proceed with the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City project before organising fund-raising projects to raise $5 million from the public.
The first question to be resolved is not raising funds for the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City, but whether the top MCA leadership can give a firm and categorical assurance that it would definitely proceed with the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City project regardless of whatever opposition from UMNO and UMNO Youth.
Unless the top MCA leadership can give this firm and categorical assurance, what is the point of raising funds for a project which might be abandoned by the top MCA leadership any time?
According to Liong Sik, the Cultural City controversy was not even discussed at Tuesday’s MCA Presidential Council meeting. Clearly, the MCA is now projecting two images on this issue:
Firstly, the top MCA leaders like the four MCA Ministers have imposed a self-ban on making statements in the face of relentless attack by UMNO and UMNO Youth leaders, giving the impression that they are prepared to abandon this project;
Secondly, MCA is encouraging the third to ninth-rank leaders and minor officials to issue very fierce statements calling on the Chinese community to stand behind the MCA leadership on the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City project.
The people have the right to know what games is the top MCA leadership playing?
As Liong Sik had himself publicly used ‘Chinatown’ to explain the Chinese Cultural City, is he the chief cause for the UMNO to misunderstand the proposal?
MCA leaders are now claiming that the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City proposal had been deliberately twisted and distorted by Malay political and cultural groups when they describe it as ‘Chinatown’, which easily arouses communal sentiments in the Malay community based on the belief that it is an attempt to create a ‘Little China’ in multi-racial Malaysia.
I now understand that the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, had himself publicly used ‘Chinatown’ to explain the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City before the issue was picked up and attacked by the UMNO Secretary-General.
As Liong Sik had himself publicly used ‘Chinatown’ to explain the Chinese Cultural City, is he the chief cause for the UMNO and UMNO Youth to misunderstand the proposal?
Is this the reason why he would not dare to take up my proposal that he need a MCA delegation to meet with Malay newspaper editors to ask them not to use ‘Chinatown’ to describe the Malaysian Chinese Cultural City, as the Malay newspaper editors can turn around and say they are only following Liong Sik’s example?