by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 27th May 1991:
MCA and Gerakan leaders are now competing to announce the principles and strategies they have abandoned under the second Outline Perspective Plan.
There is a strange phenomenon in present Malaysian politics. Normally, when a country is on the eve of a new five or ten-year plan, Government leaders will be announcing the new principles, strategies and goals that the people can look forward to in the next decade or two.
The opposite is taking place in Malaysia, for MCA and Gerakan leaders seem to be competing with each other to announce the principles and strategies they have abandoned under the second Outline Perspective Plan 1991-2000.
Yesterday, the head of the MCA Economics Bureau and Deputy Education Minister, Dr. Fong Chan Onn, announced in Cameron Highlands that the government would not establish an independent body to monitor the implementation of the new 1990s economic policy.
This is shocking, for in the past few months at various conferences, seminars and meeting, MCA leaders have been announcing that the MCA had scored a great success in asking for an independent monitoring mechanism for the 1990s economic policy in the report of the National Economic Consultative Council (NECC).
In fact, in the 37th MCA annual general assembly in July last year, the MCA President, Datuk Ling Liong Sik, declared that one of the five principles of the MCA economic vision for the 1990s is a system of monitoring of the country’s economic policy should be established to ensure that no deviations occur in implementation.”
Now, the MCA has rushed forward to announce its abandonment of a fundamental principle of its economic vision of the 1990s with Dr. Fong’s disclosure that there would be no independent monitoring mechanism in the 1990s to ensure that there is no deviation in implementation.
As the Cabinet has not taken a final decision on the second OPP, what the MCA is doing is like an army declaring its surrender even before a battle!
But this strange spectacle of political surrenders before a battle is not confined to MCA, as it has also afflicted the Gerakan as well.
Nine days ago, I called on the Cabinet before its resumed meeting to decide on the Outline Perspective Plan to abandon ethnic quotas and percentages which had created so much national division in the country.
I would have expected strong support from Gerakan, for the Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, had in his presidential address at the Gerakan annual delegates conference just before the general elections last October called for the replacement of the system based on racial quotas to one based on justice and equality.
However, even before the resumed Cabinet meeting on the OPP, the Gerakan Acting President, Kerk Choo Ting, announced in a statement that the system of quotas will continue in the Barisan Nasional government economic policy for the 1990s.
According to the MCA National Vice Chairman, Datuk Yap Plan on, the Gerakan Minister and scle representative on the Cabinet, Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, did not even bother to rush back from overseas to attend the crucial Cabinet meeting on the second OFF.
Can the MCA and Gerakan leaders explain why they are now competing with each other to announce their surrender of basic principles and strategies for the national economic policy for the 1990s even before the Cabinet had taken a final decision on the second OFF and before final approval by Parliament?