Press Conference Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretay-Geneal and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP PJ Hqrs on Saturday, August 13, 1994 at 11.30 am
Liong Sik should explain why the Jempol MCA Division handed over less than 25 per cent of donations collected for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and whether this will set the pattern for the nation-wide MCA donation drive for Chinese Independen Secondary Schools?
MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, should explain why the Jempol MCA Division handed over less than 25 per cent of donations collected for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and whether this well set the pattern for the nation-wide MCA donation drive for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools?
On 10th July 1994, the Jempol MCA Division orgainised a ‘Dragon Lion Dances Great Display’ at the Bahau Kay Chong Basketball Court.
According to the programme distributed by Jampol MCA Division during the ‘Dragon Lion Dances Great Display’, which was officiated by the MCA Youth Leader and Deputy Culture, Arts and Tourism Ministe, Datuk Chong Kong Choy, MCA received a total of RM25,700 in cash donations, comprising the following:
*One donor for RM2,000;
* 13 donors for RM500, totaling RM6,500;
* 53 donors for RM300, totaling RM15,900;
*13 donors for RM100, totaling RM1,300.
The programme gave a full list of the 80 donors who gave cash donations, as well as two other donors, one of whom gave 200 T-shirts worth RM1,500 and another gave donation worth RM300 for the night’s sound system.
However, during the “handing over to ‘Chinese Independent Secondary School Fund’ ceremony”, only RM6,300 were handed over, which is less than 25 per cent of the total cash donations of RM25,700. Furthermore, the RM6,300 was not handed over directly to Dong Jiao Zhong or any Chinese Independent Secondary School, as the cheque was written as being paid to Huaren Fund Account.
This has angered the people of Bahau and Jempol who felt cheated by this method of MCA donation for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, where less than 25 per cent of the donations collected by the Jempol MCA Division in connection with the ‘Dragon Lion Dances Great Display’ had been handed over.
A week after the Jempol MCA Division ‘Dragon Lion Dances Great Display’, DAP Negri Sembilan Publicity Secretary, Lim Hui Ming, publicly asked the MCA to explain the Jempol MCA Division Chinese Independent Secondary School donation scandal – not up till today, nobody in MCA, whether at the Jempol, Negri Sembilan or national level had come forward to clarify the matter.
I am giving Liong Sik 48 hours to explain the Jempol MCA Chinese Independent Secondary School donation scandal and to instruct Jempol MCA to immediately hand over the RM19,400 to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools
Liong Sik should explain what thas happened to the more than 75 per cent of the public donations collected by Jempol MCA for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, amounting to RM19,400?
Has the MCA leadership authorised all MCA Divisions and Branches to retain and keep 75 per cent of the donations they are collecting in the name of Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and hand over only 25 per cent for the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools?
I am giving Liong Sik 48 hours to give a satisfactory explanation on the MCA Jempol scandal and to direct the MCA Jempol Division to immediately hand over the balance of RM19,400 for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools. If on the expiry of this 480hour deadline, Liong Sik remains silent and Jempol MCA Division does not hand over this balance of RM19,400, I will direct the Negri Sembilan DAP State Committee to take all necessary action on this MCA Chinese Independent Secondary School donation scandal.
Jempol MCA Division has no business to retain the RM19,400 which the Bahau public have donated for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, as such retention tantamounts to criminal breach of trust.
It is now very clear why Liong Sik and other MCA leaders had resureected the DAP Save Bukit China One-Person One-Dollar Fund.
For the past week, I had demanded that the MCA must fully account for every wen it collected in its nation-wide donation drive using the name of the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, and in particular, that MCA must account for three items of donations for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
Liong Sik and the MCA leadership panicked because they could not give proper and satisfactory replies to the legitimate questions I have raised.
Liong Sik is trying to stop DAP questioning the honesty, integrity and accountability of the MCA donation drive using the name of Chinese Independent Secondary Schools because the MCA would not be able to withstand public scrutiny
DAP had not a will not oppose the MCA collecting donations for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, but the DAP will oppose and expose MCA for its Jempol-style of donation campaign for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, where the MCA hands over less than 25 per cent of its donation collection and keeps more than 75 per cent for itself.
Instead of replaying to my legitimate questions about the three items of the MCA donation drive for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, and establishing the honesty, integrity and accountability of this nation-wide MCA donation drive, Liong Sik and the other MCA leaders decided to distract the whole issue by resurrecting the DAP Save Bukit China One-Person One-Dollar Account.
Liong Sik and the other MCA leaders do this with one objective: to declare that the DAP cannot and has no right to question the honesty, integrity and accountability of the MCA donation drive!
Is Liong Sik seriously suggesting that if MCA uses the name of Chinese Independent Secondary Schools to alunch nation-wide donations, and behaves like the Jempol MCA Division where it hands over less than 25 per cent of the total donations and keeps for itself over 75 per cent, the DAP cannot question and speak up on behaf of the people?
If Liong Sik thinks so, he must be living in a world of his own!
Liong Sik is trying to stop DAP questioning the honesty, tntegrity and accountability of MCA donation drive using the name of Chinese Independent Secondary Schools because MCA cannot withstand public scrutiny.
The DAP is different and this is why I have accepted Liong Sik’s second challenge to make public the DAP Save Bukit China One-Person One-Dollar account and given Liong Sik three days expriring tomorrow to declare whether he would attend such a ‘Kit Siang-Liong Sik mutual verification’ appointment in Bukit China in Malacca next week.
Liong Sik can question me on anything about the DAP Save Bukit China One-Person One-Dollar account or any other DAP account, but Liong Sik must be prepared to answer all my questionings about the MCA financial scandals, including Liong Sik’s Bolton finance scandal!
Liong Sik and MCA cannot make a lie into a truth even if they repeat it a thousand times and by a thousand dpeople because Malaysians know who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’ in the great Save Bukit China campaign a decade ago
Liong Sik and the MCA leadership is now back to their old trick: to tell a lie a thousand times by a thousand different people in the hope of making the people believe that the lie has become a truth!
I am fully confident that on the DAP Save Bukit China One-Person One-Dollar account, Liong and MCA leadership cannot succeed in transforming their lie into a truth – for the people of Malaysia cannot have such a short memory as to who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’ in the great and historic Save Bukit China campaign ten years ago!
In fact, I must thank Liong Sik and the MCA for constantly keeping the DAP Save Bukit China campaign in the forefront of public consciousness – for every Malayian must be constantly reminded that without the DAP, Bukit China in Malacca will have ceased to exist and MCA and Liong Sik’s ignominous role at the time in supporting the Malacca State Government’s proposal to demolish and destroy the most ancient Chinese Cemetry hill in Malaysia.
I must remind Liong Sik that he has only 36 hours left to respond to my challenge as to whether he would attend the ‘Kit Siang-Liong Sik mutual verification’ appointment at Bukit China next week.
Has the Government decided to let a ‘Tan Sri’ who is the main beneficiary of the RM330 million Rakyat Merchant Bankers Berhad scandal to get away scot-free?
The first question I will ask in the next Parliament is whether the Government has decided to let a ‘Tan Sri’ who is the main beneficiary of the RM330 million Rakyat Merchant Bankers Berhad scandal to get away scot-free.
Recently, the police arrested 10 senior executive officers of Rakyat Merchant Bankers Bhd. but I am still waiting for the Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to keep his pledge in parliament in April this year that the Government would take action against those responsible for the colossal Rakyat Merchant Bankers Bhd. losses, regardless of their political connections.
Bank Negara had publicly revealed that Rakyat Merchant Bankers Bhd. had approved loans totaling RM150 million to 50 “fictitious” individuals and anothers RM180 million to 60 companies.
There was an avoidance of a single customer limit of RM3 million by creating 50 individual loan applicants.
Bank Negara found that there were only two beneficiaries to the RM150 million loans.
The foreign press have reported that a senior Barisan Nasional leader and a top community leader were involved in the Rakyat Merchant Bankers Sdn. Bhd. scandal of 110 fictitious accounts involving RM330 million!
In Parliament in April, Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that Rakyat Merchant Bankers Bhd. had become insolvent after suffering estimated losses of RM624.1 million as at Feb. 28 and that the losses were due to loans to certain individuals.
He pledge that the government would take action against those responsible for the bank’s inclovency, including those with possible ‘political connections’