Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the official opening of the Perak DAP State leadership ‘Party Reform’ conference held at YMCA Hall, Ipoh on Sunday, 5th January 1992 at 9.30 a.m.
Two challenges to Liong Liong Sik and Lim Keng Yaik:First, to publicly declare whether MCA and Gerakan oppose all the 62 ‘Islamisation’ measures of the PAS Kelantan Government in its first 12 months in office
For over two months, the MCA and the Gerakan had attacked the DAP for supporting the 62 ‘Islamisation’ measures of the PAS Kelantan Government in its first 12 months in office, in their attempt to try to create the false impression that the DAP backs PAS state government in Kelantan and its objective of an Islamic state.
This is a pure campaign of lies and the most dishonest, unscrupulous and unprincipled political attack of the MCA and Gerakan, which is born out of political desperation and bankruptcy, because they have no other way to undermine the confidence of the people in the DAP leadership, as repeatedly demonstrated in every general elections.
In Malaysia, there is no party which can match the DAP in its clear rejection of the Islamic State and Islamisation measures which adversely affect non-Muslim rights and interests, and this is why the MCA and Gerakan leaders dare not accept a public debate with the DAP on this issue.
DAP leaders have gone to jail and repeatedly lost their personal liberties because of their political beliefs, and unlike MCA and Gerakan leaders, DAP leaders will not compromise their political convictions to UMNO or to PAS.
Malaysians know that the DAP has no link, relationship or co-operation with PAS, and the DAP never asked the people of Kelantan to vote for a PAS government. However, DAP leaders will be visiting Kelantan later this month to get first-hand information on the Kelantan situation from both the government and the people, and the people can remain assured that we will remain steadfast in our political principles and stand during the Kelantan visit.
As the MCA and Gerakan leaders have been making almost daily attacks on the DAP over the 62 ‘Islamisation’ measures of the PAS Kelantan Government in its first 12 months in office, I am giving the MCA President, Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik and the Gerakan President, Datuk Dr.Lim Keng Yaik, five days to publicly declare whether they oppose all these 62 ‘Islamisation’ measures.
If there is no response from Ling Liong Sik and Lim Keng Yaik in five days, then the DAP and the Malaysian public can assume that it is the official stand of the MCA and Gerakan to oppose all these 62 ‘Islamisation’ measures, and we will conclude accordingly.
Second Challenge to Liong Sik and Keng Yaik: Do they want DAP to protest and demand the abolition of these first five ‘Islamisation’ measures?
The first five of these 62 ‘Islamisation’ measures of the PAS Kelantan State Government in its first 12 months in office and which have become the daily political attack of MCA and Gerakan leaders against the DAP are:
(1)The Mentri Besar, State Assemblymen and government officials to use old cars of previous government officials;
(2)Abolition of daily subsidy feast allowance to the Mentri Besar And Deputy Mentri Besar, including daily festivity jamuan expenditures, both big and small;
(3)Reduction of allowance for MentrI Besar and all Assemblymen, with 40 per cent of Mentri Besar’s monthly allowance to be donated to PAS and five per cent to the state financial coffers; and contribution of $500 per month from PAS Assemblymen to the party;
(4)Compulsory reading of Al-Quran during the beginning and end of each official function; and
(5)In every ceremony/interview, prohibition of gifts or souvenirs to reduce incidence of corruption and waste of government funds.
My second challenge to Liong Sik and Keng Yaik is whether they are opposed to these five ‘Islamisation’ measures of the Pas Kelantan state government, and whether they want the DAP leaders to protest and to demand for the scrapping of these five measures when we visit Kelantan at the end of the month.
If there is silence and totally no response from Liong Sik and Keng Yaik on these two challenges which I am throwing at them, the people will be able to draw their own conclusions.
MCA’s ‘all-out war’ against the DAP to hide the three great CA compromise and failures in past two months
It is now clear why the MCA President, Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik, had declared an ‘all-out war’ against the DAP.
The whole ulterior motive of the MCA ‘all-out war’ is to hide and distract public attention from the three great MCA compromises and failures in the past two months, namely:
(1)the greatest constitutional concession of the MCA in its 42-year history in renouncing the constitutional right, basis, status and guarantee of Chinese primary schools and mother-tongue education in Malaysia;
(2) the MCA support for the various new Islamic laws in Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Johore which adversely affect non-Muslim rights and interests, like Negri Sembilan and Johore Control and Restriction of Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion Enactment; and
(3)MCA’s failure in its ‘politics of consultation’ resulting in the 3 a.m. demolition of the 130-year-old HJohore Bahru ancient temple wall.
The MCA President, Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik, and the MCA Secretary-General, Dr.Ting Chew Peh, had been quite smart to launch the ‘all-out war’ against the DAP to try to distract publicly attention from these three MCA compromises and failures in the past two months.
However, truth must finally prevail, and the real intentions of the MCA leadership in launching the ‘all-out war’ against the DAP now stands exposed.