by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, February 1, 1994:
The live telecast of the Sabah UMNO meeting of Dr. Mahathir in Beaufort yesterday is a gross abuse of Federal Government machinery to campaign for Barisan Nasional in the Sabah state general elections.
The live telecast of the Sabah UMNO meeting of Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed in Beaufort yesterday is a gross abuse of Federal Government machinery to campaign for Barisan Nasional in the Sabah state general elections.
Is RTM prepared to be fair and provide live telecast for all political parties contesting in the Sabah state general elections? Does RTM make the important distinction that it is the property of the government and people, but not of the Barisan Nasional and should not be assisting Barisan Nasional in any general elections?
If the Barisan Nasional Federal Government is not prepared to be ‘fair’ in the Sabah state general elections, as not to abuse Federal Government machinery in the polls, how are the people of Sabah to believe that the Barisan Nasional Government would be fair when it should topple PBS and form the next Sabah state government?
Let the Barisan Nasional demonstrate that it is capable of being scrupulously fair by ensuring that no Federal government machinery is used to help the Barisan Nasional in the Sabah state general elections.
Mahathir’s promise that Barisan Nasional would set up a new Sabah government that is clean, efficient and trustworthy would be more credible if he had not brought Samy Vellu and Rahim Tamby Cik along with him to Sabah.
In his speech, which is the official kick-off of the Barisan Nasional campaign for the Sabah state general elections, Dr. Mahathir pledged to set up a new Sabah government that is clean, efficient and trustworthy if given the mandate in the state elections.
He also promised that if a leader is not clean, he would be replaced.
Dr. Mahathir’s promise that Barisan Nasional would set up a new Sabah state government that is clean, efficient and trustworthy would be more credible if he had not brought Datuk Seri Samy Vellu and Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik along with him to Sabah.
In fact, throughout his speech, Samy Vellu was standing next to Dr. Mahathir – whose very presence immediately reminded nation-wide television viewers that the Prime Minister cannot be serious in his speech.
In Samy Vellu’s case, the Anti-Corruption Agency has re-opened investigations into the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal.
In Rahim Tamby Cik’s case, the nation is still waiting for the outcome of ACA investigations into his extraordinary wealth out of all proportion to his known sources of income.
The Prime Minister and all Barisan Ministers, Chief Ministers and Mentri-Mentri Besar should publicly declare their assets by Nomination Day to prove that the Barisan Nasional is serious in making corruption the key issue in Sabah state general elections.
Dr. Mahathir’s speech at Beaufort is most interesting and welcome, for it is the first time that he had made corruption the key issue in any elections.
However, as the incumbent government at the Federal level and in all states expect for Sabah and Kelantan, the Barisan Nasional cannot rely on rhetoric’s to make the corruption issue a credible one but must back it up with deeds.
The Prime Minister and all Barisan Ministers, Chief Ministers and Mentri-Mentri Besar should publicly declare their assets by Nomination Day on February 7 to prove that the Barisan Nasional is serious in making corruption the key issue in the Sabah state general elections.
There should be no difficulty for such public declaration of assets before February 7 as all Ministers, Chief Ministers and Mentri-Mentri Besar are supposed to have declared their assets to the Prime Minister already.
If the Prime Minister, Barisan Ministers, Chief Ministers and Mentri-Mentri Besar are not prepared to publicly declare their assets, then the people of Sabah and Malaysia must wonder whether the Barisan Nasional is serious at all in raising the corruption issue in the Sabah state general elections.