Speech (Part 2) by Parliamentay Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, at the Malacca DAP Two Thousand-People Dinner at Pay Fong Chinese Independent Secondary School Hall, Malacca on Saturday, 6th August 1994 at 8 pm to commemorate his 25th Anniversary as an elected Member of Parliament
I will seek an appointment with Mahathir on how to ensure that next general elections will be ‘free, fair and clean.’
According to the parliamentary time-table, the next Dewan Rakyat meeting will be from October 17 to Dec. 20 for 38 days. This will be the budget meeting where 28 days will be set aside for the 1995 budget debate and ten days for the various new bills. The Dewan Negara will meet for nine days from 14th December to 29th December.
Unless general elections are called and Parliament dissolved by the first half of October, Parliament will meet from October 17 and the general elections would be next year using the new electoral rolls incorporating the new voters registered by the Election Commission during the 21-day voters registration exercise from July 11 to 31.
I do not rule out the possibility of October general elections although I think there is now a greater likelihood of general elections next year, either January or April.
I will therefore expect the Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to present the 1995 budget in the Dewan Rakyat on October 28 – which will become the perfect election budget with a lot of sweets and smiles for every Malaysian.
Whether the general elections are held in January or April will depend to a large extent on whether the Election Commission can produce the new electoral rolls incorporating the new voters registered last month, and in particular UMNO’s target of 400,000 new UMNO voters.
Although the Election Commission has said that they would not be able to produce the new electoral roll until December, when it will be put on public display for two weeks before they are certified, I believe the Election commission can complete the new electoral register within a shorter period.
In 1990, the Election Commission conducted a 21-day voters’ registration exercise from 1st March 10 21st March 1990. The draft electoral rolls were displayed for public inspection for two weeks from 26th June and certified on 27th July.
This means that the Election could complete and certify the new electoral rolls within four months from the end of the voters’ registration exercise – or have the new 1994 electoral rolls certified by the first week of December 1994.
If Mahathir wants to hold general elections in January 1995, then he can dissolve Parliament only after both House of Parliament had completed their meetings in December, and polling day would have to be before the Chinese New Year on January 31 and the start of the Puasa month on February 1.
If general elections are to be held in January 1995, then the likely dates would be dissolution of Parliament on January 7 and polling on January 23 and 24, 1995.
I propose to seek an appointment with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed on how to ensure that the next general elections will be ‘fair, free and clean.’
The next general elections will be the ninth general elections in Malaysia since Merdeka in 1957, and Mahathir’s fourth general elections as Prime Minister.
Let all political parties, whether in government or in opposition, co-operate to make the next general elections ‘fair, free and clean’ so that Malaysia can let the world know that we have developed a mature democratic system which can stand international scrutiny.
From the 1990 and previous general elections, the greatest electoral abuses which made Malaysian general elections dirty, unfair and one-sided are the 3M factors – Money, Media and government Machinery.
Mahathir had called an extraordinary General Assembly of UMNO to amend the UMNO constitution to stamp out money politics on the ground that unchecked, money politics can destroy UMNO.
Similarly, unless the laws and regulations of the land are changed before the next general elections, money politics can destroy the democratic system of government.
When I meet the Prime Minister, I would also propose that the Government should lift the ban on public rallies. If former Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman could allow public former Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman could allow public rallies in the 1964 general elections when the country was facing the external threat of Indonesian Confrontation and the internal threat of armed communist insurrection, there can be no good democratic reason for Mahathir to continue to ban public rallies for the next general elections?
Surely Mahathir does not want to have to learn from Nelson Mandela as South Africa can allow public rallies in their general elections!
Why Liong Sik is the worst MCA President in history – as he could not get 40 million Telekom shares for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools or it would mean a bountiful nest-egg of RM760 million
On Wednesday, MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik said in Tampin that my announcement that I would quit politics if DAP fails in the Tanjong 3 Battle to capture the Penang State in the next general elections is a political gimmick and that I should quit politics after having failed three times to capture the Penang State Government.
I responded by saying that Liong Sik is not qualified to comment on my political future as he is the worst MCA President in history.
Tonight I wish to give one reason why I say Liong Sik is the worst MCA President in history.
The 60 Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in Malaysia have made a great contribution to the cause of education and nation-building in Malaysia, which has also been acknowledged by the Deputy Prime Minster, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who described them as the ‘future assets of the nation’ during the Sabah state general elections in February this year.
Unfortunately, the MCA President and the other MCA Ministers have failed to play their role in Cabinet and government to get regular and annual Federal Government allocation to the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools from the taxpayers’ money.
Instead of getting regular and annual government allocation for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, Liong Sik decide to launch a nation-wide campaign to collect donation from the Chinese community for the Chinese Independent secondary Schools.
At the MCA launching-off ceremony in Seremban on May 27, Liong Sik announced that MCA had already collected donations totaling RM3,188,888.88 – and one donation was RM15,000 from MIC National Headquarters.
This is most shameful for the MCA president and leadership. If MIC, with one Cabinet Minister, can get the Cabinet to allocate 10 million Telekom shares for the educational upliftment of the Indian community (although nine million Telekom shares were subsequently hijacked by MIC President, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu through three shell companies), MCA with four Cabinet Ministers should have been able to get the Cabinet to allocation 40 million Telekom shares for the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
If Liong Sik had not proven to be the worst MCA President and had got 40 million Telekom share allocation for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, there would have been a bountiful nest-egg for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
Telekom shares were allocated in 1990 at RM5 per share, and it had since exceeded RM24 per share. With 40 million Telekom share allocation for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, this will mean a profit of RM760 million – which is enough to cover the financial requirements of the 60 Chinese Independent Secondary Schools for six years without a single sen of donation from the Chinese community!
With RM760 million set aside for the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, there will be no need for the MCA to try to raise donations from the Chinese community for the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
MCA leadership must give satisfactory assurance that it would not misappropriate or hijack donations from ‘big donors’ for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools
What is worse, the MCA leadership has not been frank, honest or truthful with the Chinese community with regard to the donations it is collecting by making use of the name of Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
There are three items of donations for the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools which the MCA leadership must account to the Chinese community:
* Firstly, the RM3,188,888.88 which the MCA leadership had collected for the launching-off ceremony in Seremban on May 27:
* Secondly, the RM$6 million from the 600,000 MCA members on the basis of RM10 per member; and
* Thirdly, the collection from the big donors in the Chinese community, making use of the tax-exempt status of Huaren Fund account, in the nine months from May to January next year before all the monies from the account are handed over to the 60 Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
The third item should be in the region of RM15 to RM20 million as the MCA leadership has nine months from May to January next year to make use of the name of the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools to approach the ‘big donors’
MCA leadership must give an assurance and satisfy the Chinese community that it would not misappropriate or hijack donations which it had collected from the ‘big donors’ by sing the name of the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools into the MCA election fund or other personal funds of the MCA leaders.
Liong Sik is the worst Cabinet Minister who has played the most truant from his Parliamentary duties
I will give another example why I say Liong Sik is the worst MCA President in history.
Last Parliament, the DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Dr. Kua Kia Soong, asked how many Parliamentary meetings Liong Sik had attended since the election of the present Parliament in 1990.
The answer is 24 days out of 272 days – making him the worst Cabinet Minister who has played the most truant from his Parliamentary duties.
This means he hardly turns up for six days in Parliament for one year.
And out of these 24 days he attended Parliament, 80 per cent would be because they are formal functions like the official opening of Parliament by the Yang di Pertuan Agong (4 days), the annual Budget speech (4 days), Constitution Amendments (6 days) and the Prime Minister moving important motions like the Second Perspective Plan, the Sixth Malaysia Plan and the Six Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review.
Liong Sik has never answered a single question in Parliament during question time since he became Cabinet Minister in Parliament, unlike Mahathir, Anwar Ibrahim, or even Samy Vellu and Lim Keng Yaik who often turn up in Parliament to answer questions about portfolios under their charge during the question hour.
Liong Sik is in fact the worst senior Cabinet Minister in terms of parliamentary performance – as his parliamentary report card is nil!
With such an atrocious cabinet, parliamentary and political record, what can the Malaysian in general and the Chinese community in particular expect from the MCA President?