by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Thursday, 27th February 1992:
DAP gives the MCA 48 hours to admit that it has been making baseless attacks against the DAP, including its eight allegations about the ‘oppression’ and ‘persecution’ of the Chinese in Kelantan, or the DAP will be compelled to explain the true facts to the voters of Jerai
The DAP is giving the MCA 48 hours to admit that it has been making baseless attacks against the DAP, including its eight allegations about the ‘oppression’ and ‘persecution’ of the Chinese in Kelantan, or the DAP will be compelled to explain the true facts to the voters of Jerai.
The Jerai Parliamentary by-election next Wednesday on March 4 is a direct fight between UMNO and the DAP is not involved in any way.
The DAP leadership has been receiving complaints and reports from its officials, members and supporters that the MCA had been continuing its campaign of lies and falsehoods against the DAP, even during the Jerai by-election campaign.
MCA Deputy President and Health Minister, Datuk Lee Kim Sai, and other MCA leaders for instance, had repeated the MCA lies in the Jerai by-election that the Chinese in Kelantan have been plunged in ‘deep waters and furnace heat’ as a result of the ‘oppression’ and ‘persecution’ by the Islamisation measures of the PAS-led Kelantan State Government which infringed non-Muslim rights and interests, and that the DAP must be responsible for the sufferings of the Chinese in Kelantan.
The DAP cannot and will not permit the MCA Ministers and leaders to continue with their campaign of lies and falsehoods to mislead the Chinese voters of Jerai.
The DAP is therefore giving the MCA 48 hours to:
Firstly, publicly admit that its Ministers and leaders had been making baseless attacks on the DAP since the launching of the MCA’s ‘all-out war’ against the DAP by the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik in early October last year; and
Secondly, publicly admit that there is no truth or basis in its following eight allegations about the ‘oppression’ and ‘persecution’ of the Chinese in Kelantan under the PAS-led Kelantan state government:
1. The Chinese in Kelantan cannot eat or sell pork;
2. They cannot drink beer publicly but must ‘hide and drink steathily’;
3. They cannot buy or sell liquor;
4. They must stop business during Muslim prayers;
5. They cannot go to unisex saloons;
6. Chinese women must cover their heads and wear Islamic attire;
7. Chinese women cannot work night shift; and
8. Chinese business signboards must be taken down and replaced with Jawi characters.
DAP does not rule out the holding of ceramahs in Jerai to tell the people the true facts
The MCA should publicly give an assurance that it will stop this campaign of lies and falsehoods against the DAP.
If the MCA is not prepared to make these two public admissions within 48 hours, and to give an assurance to stop this campaign of lies and falsehoods against the DAP, then the DAP may be compelled to explain to the people of Jerai, in particular the Chinese voters, the true facts as to whether:
Firstly, the MCA’s eight allegations about the ‘oppression’ and ‘persecution’ of the Chinese in Kelantan are true or whether they are all lies and are in fact the eight big ‘condemnations’ of the political bankruptcy, intellectual dishonesty and moral decadence of the MCA leadership;
Secondly, why the MCA leadership had launched an ‘all-out war’ against the DAP, which is nothing more than a propaganda campaign of lies and falsehoods, and why this ‘all-out war’ has ended up in an ‘all-out rout’;
Thirdly, why the MCA claims to represent the five million Malaysian Chinese but could only get 20 – 25 per cent support of the Chinese; and
Fourthly, why the MCA has been reduced to a political parasite of UMNO and has become the most marginalized party in the Barisan Nasional.
The DAP has not decided how it would counter and expose the MCA’s campaign of lies and falsehoods, but the possibility of holding ceramahs to explain to the voters of Jerai is not ruled out.
The DAP has no objection to the MCA Ministers and leaders campaigning for UMNO in the Jerai by-election, but they should not continue to make baseless and unfounded attacks on the DAP.
The MCA leadership should have the confidence to woo the Chinese voters of Jerai with arguments, facts and truths, and not by telling lies and falsehoods against the DAP.
The MCA leaders have thought that they could make baseless attacks on the DAP in the Jerai by-election with impunity, because the DAP cannot react or the MCA would accuse the DAP of helping PAS. These MCA leaders are too naive and simplistic if they think that the DAP will let the MCA carry out a campaign of lies against it in Jerai by-election without any reaction.