Speech by Parlimentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, at the Kuching DAP dinner in Kuching on Monday, 4th April 1994 at 8 p.m.
Barisan Nasional should rotate the Sarawak Chief Ministership among the three communities in the state as the Prime Minister has promised for Sabah
The Barisan Nasional should rotate the Sarawak Chief Ministership among the three communities in the state as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, has promised for Sabah
If the Barisan Nasional is sincere about giving all communities in Malaysia a full and equal role in the political process, then it should extend what it had promised about the rotation of the Sabah Chief Ministership among the three communities to Sarawak.
It would be interesting to find out what are the stands of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional component parties, particularly Sarawak United People’s Party, to this proposal.
Barisan Nasional Government should not practise double-standards with regard to foreign mass media allegations
The Barisan Nasional Government should not practise double-standards with regard to foreign mass media allegations.
In January this year, the Barisan Nasional Government tried to exploit for its political pupose a Sydney Sunday Telegraph report alleging that Opposition politicians and MPs in Malaysia had been taking bribes from Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) agents.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, said that there must be some basis to the Sydney Sunday Telegraph report and every day, one Cabinet Minister after another was demanding to know who are the Opposition politicians and MPs who have become ‘traitors’ to Malaysia.
The Police also said that preliminary investigations showed that there was some basis to the Australian mass media allegation, until the Canberra Times came out with a report on February 3 clarifying that it was not Opposition politicians but Barisan Nasional and UMNO politicians and MPs who had been receiving bribes from Australian spies until four years ago.
Suddenly, there was total silenct, as if the Canberra Times report and allegations never existed!
Whether it is Opposition or Barisan Nasional politicians and MPs who had been taking bribes from Australian spies, both must be regarded as equally heinous crimes. Or is the Barisan Nasional standard such that it is treason if Opposition politicians accept bribes but good investment if Barisan Nasional politicians accept bribes from Australian spies?
The same double standards could be seen in the current controversy between the Malaysia and UK over British mass media allegations about corruption, bribery and improprieties of Malaysian leaders over various arms purchases, the Pergau Project and other business deals.
In this controversy, the Malaysian Government has accused the British mass media of being irresponsible and having abused prsss freedom.
There is no doubt that the British mass media are no saints, and that they had on many occasions abused press freedom and acted irresponsibily, especially with their cheque-book journalism intruding into the privacy of public personalities.
However, can we claim that the Malaysian press are truly free, independent and responsible?
For instance, has there been a single case of major political abuse of power or corruption by political leaders which had been exposed by any Malaysian press? Or are we to believe that unlike in other countries, there are no abuses of power or corruption in high political places in Malaysia?
Malaysian press not only cannot conduct investigative reporting, they are also not allowed to report on exposes on abuses of power or corruption made by Opposition leaders!
I agree that we do not want the ‘gutter’ journalism as practised by some British press, but when the Malaysian press are not allowed to conduct any investigative journalism against abuses of power and corruption against those in high political places, or report on such exposes made by the Opposition, then we cannot pretend to have a free, independent and responsible press in Malaysia.
Why has Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor refused to appear before the All-Party Parliamentary Committee on Parliamentary Honour and National Integrity if Police has evidence that Opposition MPs had received bribes from Australian spies
In this connection, DAP calls on the new Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor, to ensure that the police play a non-partisan role and do not politicise the police force to serve the political interests of Barisan Nasional.
If the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor is right that preliminary police investigations had shown that there is basis to the Sydney Sunday Telegraph allegation that Opposition politicians and MPs had been taking bribes from Australian spies, why is he not prepared to appear before the All-Party Parliamentary Committee on Parliamentary Honour and National Integrity to give testimony or briefing to the Parliamentary Committee?
On behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Committee on Parliamentary Honour and National Integrity, I had issued two invitations to TanSri Rahim Noor to appear before the Committee, and he had declined both invitations.
Has the Police found any basis to the Canberra Times report that it is not Opposition p[oliticians but UMNO politicians and MPs who had been paid bribes by Australian spies until four years ago?