Press Conference Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at Penang DAP Hqrs on Wednesday, July 27, 1994 at 11.30 a.m.
Challenge to Keng Yaik to list out all the ‘Little Liberalisation’ in the past three years for which Gerakan is claiming credit at the Gerakan annual delegates’ meeting this weekend.
Gerakan will be holding its annual delegates’ conference this weekend, and I challenge the Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik to list out all the ‘Little Liberalisation’ in the past three years for which the Gerakan is claiming credit.
Last week, I gave the MCA Ministers and leaders three days to spell out the ‘Little Liberalisation’ in certain economic and educational measures in the past three years for which the MCA is claiming credit.
The three days came and went and the MCA Ministers could not produce such a list of the ‘Little Liberalisation’ which they can claim credit as having been achieved by MCA inside the Barisan Nasional Government.
The statement by the MCA Secretary-General and Minister for Housing and Local Government, Datuk Dr. Ting Chew Peh yesterday has only confirmed this – that the MCA Ministers and leaders could not produce a list of the ‘Little Liberalisation’ which the MCA has claimed was the result of its achievement in the Barisan Nasional Government in the past three years.
Dr. Ting’s statement was a very personal attack on me, accusing me as a person ‘without principles’, but the vehemence of his personal attacks against me cannot hide the fact that neither he nor any MCA Minister could spell out the list of the ‘Little Liberalisation’ in the past three years for which MCA is claiming credit.
I asked the MCA leadership to produce its list of ‘Little Liberalisation’ for which MCA has claimed credit. Instead of replying by producing such a list, Dr. Ting Chew Peh issued a statement making very personal and baseless attacks against me. I am sure the people’s eyes are ‘snowy clear’ and can see why Chew Peh had to react in such an extraordinary fashion!
Gerakan is another party which claims credit for the ‘Little Liberalisation’ in certain economic and educational measures in the past three years.
I am therefore challenging Keng Yaik to list out the ‘Little Liberalisation’ which Gerakan is claiming credit, and Keng Yaik has also three days to produce the Gerakan’s list of ‘Little Liberalisation’.
Let us see whether Keng Yaik would behave like the MCA where instead of producing such a list of ‘Little Liberalisation’, he would resort to abuses and personal attacks against me because the Gerakan, like MCA, cannot produce such a list which could withstand public scrutiny.
The MCA leadership is going against the wishes of the Chinese community in deciding to keep donations for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in its Huaren Fund instead of handing them directly to the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools
The joint central committee meeting of the MCA, MCA Youth and MCA Wanita yesterday decided to keep donations from the Chinese community for the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in its Huaren Fund instead of handing them directly to the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
This decision of the MCA leadership goes against the wishes of the Chinese community which wants MCA to hand the donations directly to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools or to Dong Jiao Zong. The Chinese community does not want MCA to keep these donations in its Hauren Fund for two reasons:
• To prevent MCA from using the donations for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in Hauren Fund as an instrument to further its political objective to take over the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and Dong Jiao Zong, to fulfill its secret agenda to MCA-ise Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and Dong Jiao Zhong; and
• To ensure that there ould b no misappropriation of public funds, criminal breach of trust and other abuses of power, as the MCA leadership has the worst history of all political parties in Malaysia on this score as seen by the list of MCA leaders – including a MCA President, a MCA Youth Leader and a MCA Deputy Minister – who had been convicted and jailed for criminal breach of trust.
After the joint MCA leadership meeting yesterday, MCA Deputy President, Datuk Lim Ah Lek said that donors to MCA for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools can enjoy ‘tax-exempt’ status.
This shows the lack of sincerity of the MCA leadership in wanting to help Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
The MCA should ask the Minister of Finance of grant ‘tax-exempt status’ for all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, and not just donation made through MCA and Hauren Investment Fund.
If Gerakan annual delegates’ meeting is not prepared to take two new policy positions on Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, then it is clear that Chinese educationists who ‘Attacked into the Barisan to rectify the Barisan’ have abandoned their political pledges in 1982
I hope the Gerakan annual delegates’ conference this weekend would adopt a policy position calling on the Government to grant ‘tax exempt status’ to all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools regardless of whether they are made through MCA or directly to the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
Furthermore, Gerakan should also ask the Federal and all State Governments to make regular and annual allocations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in line with the public recognition by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in the Sabah state general elections that Chinese Independent Secondary Schools are the ‘future assets of the nation’.
If Gerakan annual delegates’ conference this weekend is not prepared to take these two new policy positions on Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, then it is clear that Chinese educationists like Kerk Choo Ting, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and Dr. Kang Chin Seng who join the Gerakan under the slogan ‘Attack into the Barisan to rectify the Barisan’ have abandoned their political pledges in 1982.
Gagasan Rakyat has formed a special subcommittee to demand that the next general elections is ‘free, fair and clean’
I wish to clarify a statement by the Semangat 46 vice president, Datuk Suhaimi Kamaruffin, who was reported in a local press today as saying that the opposition fronts of Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah and Gagasan Rakyat had decided in a meeting last week to contest in all parliamentary and state seats in the next general elections.
This gives the impression that there had been a meeting of Gagasan Rakyat with Angkatan Prpaduan Ummah (APU). There had been no such meeting between the Gagasan Rakyat and APU either last week or any time previously.
The DAP has taken a policy position that it would continue with its past position of not co-operating with PAS in the next general elections.
The DAP has in fact proposed a ‘loosened’ Gagasan Rakyat for the next general elections in view of changed political situation, with such Gagasan Rakyat party using its own symbol, election manifesto and even allowing multi-cornered contests.
For this reason, the 1990 General Elections phenomenon where there was only a ‘one-to-one’ contest between the Opposition and the Barisan Nasional in most of the constituencies would not recur again.
What the DAP is most concerned is whether the Election Commission can ensure that the next general elections would be ‘free, fair and clean’.
The DAP has asked the Election Commission to extend the 21-day voters’ registration exercise by 21 days from July 31 to August 21 as otherwise, hundreds of thousands of eligible Malaysians would be denied the right to vote because of unsatisfactory voter-registration arrangements by the Election Commission.
How can the next general elections be ‘free, fair and clean’ when hundreds of thousands of eligible voters cannot cast their vote on polling day because of weaknesses and failures of the Election Commission in registering them as voters?
The Gagasan Rakyat has formed a special sub-committee to demand that the next general elections is fair, free and clean, which will be concerned with issues including the voters’ registration exercise; the denial of the right to vote involving hundreds of thousands of Malaysians; ‘phantom voters’ in Gerakan constituencies to save Dr. Koh Tsu Koon in Tanjong Bungah and Dr. Lim Keng Yaik in Bruas parliamentary seat; the abuses of the postal ballot; free and fair access to mass media by Opposition parties to ensure a fair general elections campaign and money politics during general elections.
This Gagasan Rakyat special subcommittee is headed y the Semangat 46 Deputy President, Datuk Rais Yatim and the DAP representative on this subcommittee is the DAP MP for Bukit Bintang, Wee Choo Keong.