by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Friday, 11th June, 1993:
Dr. Koh Tsu Koon should explain why he played “the China card” instead of “the Mahathir card” to justify the undemocratic and unconstitutional violation of the Penang State Constitution on the six-month rule?
Penang Chief Minister, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, should explain why he played “the China card” instead of “the Mahathir card” to justify the undemocratic and unconstitutional violation of the Penang State Constitution on the six-month rule.
The whole thrust of Dr. Koh Tsu Koon’s response, which was echoed by other Penang Gerakan leaders, was that the official opening of the Penang State Assembly by the Yang di Pertua Negeri tomorrow has to be separated form its working State Assembly meeting 11 days later on June 23 because Dr. Koh Tsu Koon wad joining the delegation accompanying the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir on his visit to China from June 13 to 22.
What is significant is that Tsu Koon and the Penang Gerakan leaders concentrated on “the China card” – on the importance of Dr. Koh Tsu Koon’s trip to China and insinuating that the DAP was anti-China and was trying to sabotage Dr. Koh Tsu Koon’s trip to China and never on the importance of Dr.. Koh accompanying Dr. Mahathir on the China trip.
Is this because Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and the Penang Gerakan leaders have concluded that ‘the China card’ is more powerful than ‘the Mahathir card’ to get public support?
In actual fact, the whole issue of the undemocratic and unconstitutional violation of the Penang State Constitution on the six-month rule has nothing to do either with ‘the China card’ or ‘the Mahathir card’ – but with the fear of Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and the Penang State Exco members in having to face Penang DAP State Assemblymen and their desire to avoid holding State Assembly meetings for as long as constitutionally permissible, or by stretching and bending the constitution to the extent of violating it!
It is the height of irresponsibility for Dr. Koh Tsu Koon to play ‘the China card’ just to score political mileage.
It reminds one of the recent episodes where there was a fuss when the managing director of Otis, Andrea Vecchiotti, was quoted in the May 22 issue of the weekly, the Economist, as saying that his company had picked Penang instead of Kuala Lumpur to set up its RM l69 million elevator and escalator plant because Penang is “more Chinese”.
Vecchiotti’s statement is clearly open to criticism, but surely there is no need for the Penang Chief Minister, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, to over-react and even panic and sent off explanatory letters to both Dr. Mahathir and the Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz!
If Dr. Koh Tsu Koon is so sensitive to “Chinese” and “China” questions, then how can he reconcile his using ‘the China card’ to justify his undemocratic and unconstitutional violation of the six-month rule of the Penang State Constitution?
I have said that the Penang DAP State Assemblymen are prepared to let the matter of the violation of the six-month rule in the Penang State Constitution rest if Dr. Koh Tsu is prepared to admit that he is wrong in trying to violate and circumvent the Penang State Constitution and promises not to repeat it.
I have also proposed the amendment of the Penang State Constitution to change the six-month rule to a three-month rule, so that the Penang State Assembly must meet at least once in three months to give more meaning to the fundamental principle of accountability of the State Government in a democratic system to the elected representatives of the people.
If Dr. Koh Tsu Koon does not give any response to both these proposals, we can only assume that he is again reserving to himself the right in future to violate the State Constitution on the six-month rule as well as the fundamental principle of accountability.