Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the official launching of the Negri Sembilan State DAP Voters’ Registration Campaign at the Sembilan Central Market on Wednesday, 13th July 1994 at 10 a.m.
Call on all 60 Chinese Independent Secondary Schools to apply to Government for standing automatic tax exemption for all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools
On Monday in Parliament, during the debate on the supplementary supply and development estimates, I called on the Finance Ministry to announce tax exemption for all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
I said it was most unfair and illogical that at present, only donations for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools made through MCA enjoy tax exemption and asked whether this decision was an educational one to help Chinese Independent Secondary Schools or a political-motivated one to help MCA to take over Chinese Independent Secondary Schools?
In his reply yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, Datuk Dr. Affifuddin Omar, said that the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools can apply to the Government for tax exemption for donations made to them.
I therefore call on all the 60 Chinese Independent Secondary Schools to apply to the Federal Government for standing automatic tax exemption for all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools as well as for the Dong Jiao Zong Education Centre, whether the donations are made directly to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, Dong Jiao Zong or through MCA.
In my speech in Parliament on Monday, I had also proposed that the Finance Ministry should make regular allocations to all Chinese Independent Secondary Schools as it had made RM5 million allocation to the nine Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in Sabah.
I expressed my great disappointment that the supplementary estimates do not contain provision for regular and annual allocations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
The Finance Ministry should be fair to all Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, whether in Sabah or in Peninsular Malaysia, and I had expected regular annual financial allocations to all Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in the previous batch of supplementary estimates in the April meeting of Parliament or in this Parliamentary meeting.
In his reply, Affifuddin said that allocations to private schools would be made on the basis of ‘kehendak’.
This is not a satisfactory reply and I hope that the MCA and Gerakan Ministers will raise in Cabinet the issue of regular annual allocations by the Federal Government to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
DAP invites MCA and Gerakan to jointly form a subcommittee to draft a National Charter for Chinese Education where the government will regard Chinese Education, Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools as ‘assets of the future of the nation’ at all times an not just during the 10-day general election period
In the Sabah State general elections when announcing RM5 million allocation to the nine Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that Chinese Independent Secondary Schools are the “assets for the future of the nation”.
However, Barisan Nasional leaders seem to recognize Chinese Independent Secondary Schools as the “assets for the future of the nation” only for the few days during the election campaign when they want to win Chinese votes, and then cleanly forget about these assets for the future of the nation” after the elections.
This election attitude of the Barisan Nasional leaders towards Chinese Independent Secondary Schools is completely unacceptable and should be replaced by a complete policy change of the Barisan Nasional toward Chinese education, Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
This is why next month the DAP will be presenting a National Charter on Chinese Education which hould form the basis for government policy on Chinese education from now till 2020. under the National Charter on Chinese Education, the government will not regard Chinese education, Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools as “assets for the future of the nation” during the 10-day general election campaign period, but al the times.
The MCA leaders are very worried about the National Charter on Chinese Education proposed by the DAP, and want to ‘play politics’ by suggesting that the DAP Party Constitution should be amended by incorporating the Charter.
The MCA leaders simply do not understand the legitimate aspirations of the Chinese community with regard to Chinese education, Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, or they would have realized that what the people want is for the Barisan Nasional Government to adopt such a Charter as basis for government policy on Chinese education!
If the MCA leaders are serious about Chinese education, Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, they would be more concerned about the contents of the National Charter for Chinese education instead of trying to ‘play politics’.
I invite the MCA and Gerakan to join the DAP to form a joint committee to draft a National Charter for Chinese Education to be the basis of new government policy which will regard Chinese education, Chinese primary schools and Chinese Independent Secondary Schools as ‘assets of the future of the nation’ at all times, and not just during the 10-day election period.
I hope to get a positive response from the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik and the Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik and that for the first time, the ‘Three Lims’ can sit down to draw up a National Charter for Chinese education to serve as the policy guidelines for the development of Chinese education in Malaysia in the next few decades.
Call on the people of Negri Sembilan to register as voters by July 31 to support DAP’s movement for ‘Big Liberalisation’ in Malaysia
I call on the people of Negri Sembilan to register as voters by July 31 to support the DAP’s movement for ‘Big Liberalisation’ in Malaysia, which will b the central issue in the next general elections
Malaysians will note that no MCA or Gerakan Minister or leader had dared to respond to the DAP challenge for them to declare whether they support DAP’s call for ‘Big Liberalisation’ in Malaysia – instead of the ‘Little Lineralisation’ and some ‘False Liberalisation’ in the past three years.
Malaysians should make ‘Big Liberalisation’ the central theme in next general elections to institutionalize in Malaysia a more open, liberal and democratic society
There could only be ‘Big Liberalisation’ in the nation-building policies in the country if the Barisan Nasional government is prepared for radical policy changes in the political, economic, educational, social, cultural, religious and all nation-building spheres.
The ‘Little Liberalisation’ in the past few years, which have made the people feel that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr, Mahathir Mohamed, has become a bit more open and liberal as compared to before 1990, does not involve any basic policy change.
Although in the past three years had been no mass detentions under the Internal Security Act, the sacking of the Lord President and Supreme Court judges, the closure of national newspapers, as happened in 1987 and 1988, the undemocratic laws and powers which enabled the Government to violate human rights and undermine the principle of the independence of the judiciary have remain unchanged.
As these undemocratic laws and powers remain intact, what happened before 1990 can recur any time in the future. This is why the ‘Little Liberalisation’ is not enough or satisfactory enough.
What Malaysians must unite and demand, and make this the central issue in the next general elections, is for ‘Major Lineralisation’ involving radical nation-building policy changes so as to institutionalize in Malaysia more open, liberal and democratic society.
DAP victories in Seremban and Rasah parliamentary constituencies in next general elections will be a great booster for the ‘Big Liberalisation’ Struggle
It will be a greater booster for the ‘Big Liberalisaiton’ struggle throughout the country id the DAP can secure victories in Seremban and Rasah parliamentary constituencies in the next general elections.
MCA has virtually regarded the Seremban and Rasah parliamentary seats as their ‘safe seats’, particularly Seremban in view of the changed racial breakdown of the electronic.
If DAP can re-capture Seremban and Rasah which MCA regards as their ‘safe seats’, it will send out shock waves not only in Negri Sembilan but throughout Malaysia – and these shock waves which greatly propel the ‘Big Liberalisation’ movement to create a Malaysia where all Malaysians regardless of race have an equal place under the Malaysian sun.