Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the Taman Selamat DAP Branch Ceramah held in Bukit Mertajam on Sunday, June 5, 1994 at 7.30 p.m.
DAP warns Gerakan and MCA leaders to stop their ‘gutter and immoral politicking’ which is a sign of their political desperation and bankruptcy
DAP warns Gerakan and MCA leaders to stop their ‘gutter and immoral politicking’ which is a sign of their political desperation and bankruptcy.
Telling lies and falsehoods seem to have become the political culture of both the Gerakan and MCA leadership in recent years.
The best example is the latest lie of both Gerakan and MCA leaders, accusing me of being ‘double-faced’ in saying one thing to the Chinese and a different thing to the Malays.
I have never claimed myself to be ‘Saviour of the Chinese’ and I will never claim to be ‘Saviour of the Malays’ or anyone’s Saviour
Gerakan leaders led by Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik and MCA leaders headed by MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, are going round the country alleging that I have claimed to be a Chinese Saviour when speaking to the Chinese, and to the Malays, I have claimed to be a Saviour of the Malays.
I challenge Keng Yaik and Liong Sik to produce proof that I had claimed to be a ‘Saviour of the Chinese’.
It is in fact the MCA leaders who have claimed themselves to be the ‘Saviours of the Chinese’. The best example was the former MCA President, Tan Koon Swan, who dislodged Neo Yee Pan as MCA President on the slogan that he is the ‘Saviour’ of the Chinese.
In my 28 years political struggle, I had never claimed myself to be a ‘Chinese Savior’, and I will never claim to be a Saviour of the Malays or anyone’s Saviour.
Gerakan and MCA leaders claimed that I have put up a poster in Penang claiming that I am the ‘Saviour’ of the Malays in Penang.
This is a blatant lie, for I have never put up a poster in Penang claiming that I am ‘Saviour’ of the Malays.
A few months ago, the Jawatankuasa Penyeleras Melayu DAP Pulau Pinang put up posters in Penang with the words “Bersatu Jayakan Tanjung 3 – DAP MELAYU PENYELAMAT MELAYU PULAU PINANG”.
Before the Penang State Assembly meeting, I asked the Chairman of the Jawatankuasa Penyeleras Melayu DAP Pulau Pinang, Sdr. Ahmad Nor, to give the reasons for the poster so that could present them to the Penang State Assembly.
This was why last Thursday, I told the Penang State Assembly the reasons why the Jawatankuasa Penyeleras Melayu DAP Pulau Pinang put up the poster, that it was to make the Malays realise that the Penang Barisan Nasional Government, and in particular UMNO, had failed to resolve many issues and problems faced by the Malays, like land acquisition at very low prices, goverment failure in low-cost housing, high sale prices like the UDA Kelawei flats and the prevalent problem of wakaf land.
As a party for all Penangites, regardless of race, the DAP will continue to voice out the problems and aspirations of all races in the Penang State Assembly.
Call on Tsu Koon to prove that he is Chief Minister ‘in name and in fact’ by announcing in State Assembly tomorrow acceptance of DAP proposal for a five-man committee to investigate into all land malpractices and abuses of power
In the Penang State Assembly last week, one central issue is the role of Dr. Koh Tsu Koon as Penang Chief Minister who has to play ‘second fiddle” to two persons who are supposed to his inferiors in position, Dr. Ibrahim Saad and Datuk Tan Gim Hwa.
I call on Tsu Koon to prove that he is Chief Minister ‘in name and in fact’ by announcing in the State Assembly tomorrow acceptance of the DAP proposal for a five-man committee to investigate into all land malpractices and abuses of power.
This five-man committee, as proposed by DAP Assemblyman for Pangkalan Kota, Chow Kon Yeow in the State Assembly on Friday, would be headed by the Speaker, Datuk Abdul Rahman Abbas and include the Chief Minister, would also investigate into the robbery case in which RM300,000 was stolen which was alleged to be meant for Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Ibrahim Saad in connection with-the conversion of a piece of land in Relau.
Tsu Koon can also prove that he is a Chief Minister ‘in name and in fact’ by supporting another DAP motion to be moved by DAP Assemblyman for Ayer Hitam, Ong Hock Aun, in the State Assembly next week calling for the annual allocation of RM200,000 to each Chinese Independent Secondary Schools with effect from 1991.
MCA is the party of the fifties and sixties which still believes in the politics of race and that money is everything
Two days ago in Penang, MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik accused the DAP of indulging in the politics of the sixties.
Liong Sik cannot be more wrong. It is the DAP which in the 60s, already had the Vision of the 21st century – and the Vision 2020 as proclaimed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, is a latter-day version of the Vision of the 21st century which the DAP proclaimed in the 1960s. This is a indication of the far-sightedness of the DAP, which is always ahead of the times as compared with the MCA which is always backward-looking.
It is the MCA which is the party of the fifties and sixties which make it completely unfit for the Vision of 2020.There are two main reasons for this.
Firstly, MCA is still practising the politics of race, where its membership is only confined to one race instead of being open to all races. What right have the MCA to talk about Vision 2020 and its ideal of a Bangsa Malaysia, when MCA prohibits all races from joining it as members.
The greatest joke of course is that although MCA claims to be the world’s
third biggest Chinese political party, it could not get the support and confidence of the majority of the Chinese in Malaysia.
This is related to the second reason why the MCA is a party of the fifties and sixties. The MCA started off as a lottery organisation and money had always been its guiding philosophy.
Throughout MCA history, the minds of MCA leaders are filled with thoughts about money and never with ideals, principles or concepts about justice, equality, freedom.
Even the present MCA leadership can only think in terms of money, and Liong Sik thinks his- greatest political contribution is to raise money from the Chinese community, whether for Chinese primary schools or Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
Liong Sik and the MCA cannot be more wrong. The political role and responsibility of the MCA Ministers are not to raise money from the Chinese community for Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, but to get the Cabinet to give fair and adequate financial provision for the Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
DAP has proposed that the Federal Government give annual financial allocation to the 60 Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, and for a start, the Government should allocate RM200 million to make up for the neglect to give regular financial grants to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in the last three to four decades.
What is the stand of the MCA Ministers? Are they only good at asking the Chinese community to give money, but totally unable to ask UMNO Ministers in Cabinet to agree to use some of the taxpayers’ money for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools?