Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, to DAP, DAPSY and DAP Wanita National and State Publicity officials at the DAP Hars on Monday, 20th January 1992 at 10 a.m.
MCA leadership has launched the second phase of its ‘all-out war’ against the DAP after its first phase had collapsed ignominiously within two months
All DAP, DAPSY and DAP Wanita leaders, in particualr National, State and branch publicity officials, should realise that the MCA leadership has launched the second phase of its ‘all-out war’ against the DAP after its first phase had collapsed ignominiously within two months.
This is evidence from the new barrage of attacks by MCA national leaders against the DAP in the past two days, with the MCA National Vice Chairman, Chua Jui Meng, leading off the second MCA ‘offensive’ against the DAP on Saturday, and followed by an orchestrated attack by the MCA Secretary-General, Ting Chew Peh, MCA Director of Publicity Bureau, Wong See Wah and MCA Deputy Finance Minister, Loke Yuen Yow yesterday.
All DAP, DAPSY and DAP Wanita leaders, must be ever prepared to face the MCA’s ‘all-out war’ and to smash the second MCA offensive, in the same way that the DAP had smashed the first phase of the MCA ‘all-out war’ within two months after it was declared by the MCA President, Datuk Dr.Ling Liong Sik, at the meeting of all elected MCA representatives at Genting Highlands on October 10.
We can recall the ferocity of the MCA attacks on the DAP in the initial days and weeks of Liong Sik’s declaration of ‘all-out war’ against the DAP. The MCA Hqrs set up a war operation centre which was working overtime to churn out a daily barrage of press statements attacking the DAP, which were issued in the name of MCA national, state and branch leaders. At one time, the Chinese press were virtually dominated by the MCA attacks on the DAP by headless and nameless MCA ‘cultur assassins’ but using the names of MCA national and state leaders.
However, all this MCA propaganda blitz failed for three reasons:
Firstly, it was most tedious and unoriginal, for these attacks were mere repretition of the same abuses, half-truths and falsehoods against the DAP, which could not stand up to reason and examination;
Secondly, the counter-attack launched by the DAP headed by the DAP Publicity Committee, which exposed the MCA’s ‘all-out war’ as an empty and hollow one;
MCA’s ‘all-out war’ against DAP failed because Liong Sik did not study Sun Tze’s injuction of ‘Know thy enemy and know thyself’
Thirdly, Liong Sik did not study and heed Sun Tze’s The Art of War and his injunction: ‘Know thy enemy and know thyself’; in a hundred battles, you will never be in peril.
In fact, Liong Sik would not have declared any ‘all-out war’ against the DP if he had studied Sun Tze’s injunction of Know thy enemy and know thyself’.
Firstly, MCA did not have the conditions to conduct an ‘all-out war’ against the DAP because the MCA President himself was not prepared to lead the MCA into battle, as in having a public debate with the DAP;
Secondly, the actions and record of the MCA leadership are completely indefensible, whether of the past 42 years or of the present leadership. The MCA leaders for instance could not hold their heads high on numerous issues for which they must bear direct responsibility, such as
(i) the MCA Malaysian Chinese cultural city;
(ii) the greatest concession in the 42-year MCA history renouncing the constitutional right, basis, status and future of Chinese primary schools and mother-tongue education;
(iii) MCA suppot for new Islamic laws in the Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Johore Assemblies last month which are detrimental to non-Muslim Malaysian rights and interests;
(iv) MCA support for Malacca and Perlis government measures to prohibit pig-rearing;
(v) MCA’s betrayal of its own Vision of the 1990s as proclaimed in the Malaysian Unity Plan in October 1989, such as the MCA’s demand for an Independent Monitoring Commission for the National Development Policy and one-third allocation of total rural development fund for the 452 new villages,
i.e. $2,440 million and accepting instead the paltry figure of $21.6 million under the Sixth Malaysia Plan;
(vi) the failure to provide a satisfactory and final solution to the 4As-2Cs issue for promotion of Chinese and Tamil primary school pupils automatically to Form One;
(vii) the Tunku Abdul Rahman College; and
(viii) the latest MCA support to creat a new distonction among the bumiputera hardcore poor and non-bumiputera hardcore poor, and opposing the DAP proposal that the government’s $500 million revolving fund to help the bumiputera hardcore poor should be extended to the non-bumiputera hardcore poor.
The third reason why MCA did not have the condition to declare an ‘all-out war’ against the DAP is because Liong Sik did not study the five constant factors which Sun Tze defined as the determinants of outcome of wars: (1)The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (2) Earth; (4) the Commander; (5) Method and Discipline.
The reason why Liong Sik declared ‘all-out war’ against the DAP is not because of ‘The Moral Law’, that the MCA has better policies than the DAP.
Liong Sik declared ‘all-out war’ against the DAP because the humiliation suffered by the entire MCA leadership and especially he himself as MCA President as a result of the DAPSY-MCA Youth debate on ‘MCA or DAP- Who is the Political Parasite?’ on August 9, which turned out to be a public trial and historic judgement on the parasitical politics of the MCA leaders.
The height of the MCA war against the DAP was the attack by Liong Sik at the Bukit Bintang dinner on December 7, when he suggested that the DAP change its name to CCND to stand for ‘Consistently critical, negative and destructive’.
When the DAP responded that MCA could change its name to UCPP to stand for ‘UMNO ‘s Chinese Parasitic Party’, or keep the initials of MCA but change its meaning to ‘Malaysian Crocodiles Association’, the first phase of the MCA ‘all-out war’ against the DAP totally collapse.
This was why on 16th December, I asked Liong Sik whether the MCA was flying the ‘white flag’ and admitting defeat in its ‘all-out war’ against the DAP.
It is now apparent that the MCA leadership is not prepared to terminate its meaningless ‘all-out war’ against the DAP, and has decided instead to launch a second phase of its attacks.
Ting Chew Peh has told the two biggest lies by an MCA leader in the 1990s
From the statements have been issued by Ting Chew Peh, Chua Jui Meng, Wong See Wah and Loke Yuen Yow against the DAP in the past two days, it is clear that the MCA ;eaders are again resorting to abuses, distortions, half-truths and downright lies in the MCA’s second phase of ‘all-out war’ against the DAP.
For instance, Ting Chew Peh said that the DAP ‘s 24-month reform movement had two objectives: to take a confrontational attitude towards the Federation of Chinese Assembly Halls and to defend PAS’ policies and administration in Kelantan.
These must the two biggest lies to be told by an MCA leader in the 1990s.
I first made the public announcement that the DAP would be launching a 24-month party reform at the end of the year in a speech in Seremban on 28th August 1991-well before the registration of the Federation of Chinese Assembly Halls, it is true that I critised statements made by Lim Geok Chan, bit this is different from attacking the Federation of Chinese Assembly Halls.
If MCA does not want to make any distinction between Lim Geok Chan and the Chinese Halls, this is the MCA’s prerogative; but as far as the DAP is concerned, there is a distinction between Lim Geok Chan and the Chinese Halls. DAP is ever open-minded and is prepared to co-operate with Chinese Halls on matters of common interest and principle.
Secondly, the DAP has never defended the policies and administration of the PAS Kelantan State Government. The reason why DAP leaders will be visiting Kelantan on January 27 and 28 is to find out first-hand the views of the people on the policies and measures implemented PAS Kelantan State Government as well as the explanations of the Kelantan State Government.
The DAP will be making public its stand on the so-called ’70 Islamisation measures’ of the PAS Kelantan State Government before the visit to Kelantan. Unlike MCA, the DAP will make its stand based on its consistent political principle that Islamic laws should not be imposed or applied on non-Muslims, whether by PAS or by UMNO.
MCA leaders will never declare that they will oppose the imposition of Islamic laws on non-Muslim Malaysians, for MCA will support all Islamisation measures by UMNO to impose Islamic laws and values on non-Muslim Malaysians but oppose all measures taken by PAS, including those which have nothing to do with imposition of Islamic laws and values o non-Muslim Malaysians.
All DAP, DAPSY and DAP Wanita publicity officials must make sure that the second phase of the MCA’s ‘all-out war’ of lies and falsehood against the DAP is exposed and detroyed in a shorter time than its first phase.