Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP Voters’ Registration Campaign at Taman Sri Kijang, Machang Bubuh state constituency, Bukit Mertajam on Wednesday, 27th July 1994 at 8.30 p.m.
Keng Yaik should explain what type of a political party is Gerakan when it is not bothered about voters’ registration exercise and not concerned that hundreds of thousands of eligible Malaysians are being denied the right to vote in general elections
Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik should explain to Malaysians at the Gerakan annual delegates conference in Kuala Lumpur this weekend as to what type of a political party is Gerakan when it is not bothered about the voters’ registration exercise and not concerned that hundreds of thousands of eligible Malaysians are being denied the right to vote in general elections.
The only interest the Gerakan has shown with regard to the voters’ registration exercise which ends on Sunday is to register ‘phantom voters’ to shore up Gerakan leaders, particularly in the Tanjong Bungah state assembly constituency in Penang to save Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and the Bruas parliamentary constituency in Perak to save Keng Yaik himself.
Apart from the ’phantom voters’, Gerakan has left the entire voters’ registration exercise to UMNO, which has mobilized its entire party machinery to register 400,000 new UMNO voters for the next general elections which will not only benefit UMNO candidates, but also Gerakan, MCA and MIC candidates.
Gerakan has no right to call itself a political party as it is not interested about voters’ registration exercise.
In fact, Gerakan has no right to call itself a political party as it is not interested about voters’ registration exercise or the denial of hundreds of thousands of Malaysians above 21 years the right to vote because of the failures and weaknesses of the voters’ registration machinery.
I am very disappointed that the Gerakan has not supported the DAP’s call to the Election Commission to extend the 21-day voters’ registration exercise by another 21 days so that the final date for voters’ registration would be extended from July 31 to August 21.
Malaysians who have reached 21 and who have not registered on the electoral roll have three final days left to register if they are not to forfeit the right to vote in the next general elections.
Gerakan has the most number of leaders and spokesmen whose name would immediately cause the people to dismiss their speeches or statements as ‘trash’
Gerakan has also scored another ‘distinction’ as a political party. It has the most number of leaders and spokesmen whose name would immediately cause the people to dismiss their speeches and statements as ‘trash’ and ‘rubbish’.
As a result, when the people read in the newspaper of a speech or a statement made by such Gerakan leader or spokesman, they either automatically skip to the next item so as not to waste their time on ‘trash’ and ‘rubbish’ or they read on solely for its ‘entrainment value’!
MCA has also its share of such leaders and spokesmen who are incapable of greater things’, who have established a reputation of talking or writing ‘trash’ and ‘rubbish’, and whose name would turn the newspaper readers off to skip to another new items or to read them solely for their ‘entrainment value’, but proportionately, Gerakan has produced more of such people than MCA.
In fact, in Gerakan, such people who are ‘incapable of greater things’ could even rise to high political positions in the party, as for instance, as Gerakan National Youth Leader.
I was delighted when one of these ‘incapable f greater things’ was elevated to the position of Gerakan national Youth Leader, for it not only marked the degeneration of the political standards of Gerakan, but means that the people can dismiss even more speeches and statements emanating from the Gerakan and Gerakan Youth as ‘trash’ and ‘rubbish’!
Whether Keng Yaik can give a full list of the ‘Little Liberalisation’ for which Gerakan is claiming credit is an acid test whether Gerakan should be taken seriously as a political party
Yesterday, I gave Keng Yaik three days to give a full list of the ‘Little Liberalisation’ in Barisan Nasional nation-building policies in the past three years for which Gerakan is claiming credit.
Whether Keng Yaik can give a full list of the ‘Little Liberalisation’ for which Gerakan is claiming credit is an acid test whether Gerakan should be taken seriously as a political party.