by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Thursday, 9th February 1995:
The MCA national leadership should not be silent any longer on what action it proposes to take to defend the legal rights and claims of the Tanah Putih farmers, as 98 per cent of the farmers and 100 per cent of the Committee members of Gua Musang Smallholders Association are MCA members
I am shocked that although 48 hours have passed since my announcement of the suspension of DAP plan to make representation to the Kelantan State Government to respect the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih, Gua Musang farmers, the MCA national leadership has been very silent on what action it would take to defend the legal rights and claims of the Tanah Putih farmers, and whether the MCA national leadership is prepared to take the issue to a court of law.
The DAP is not opposed to any legal rights and claims of the Tanah Putih farmers which the MCA national leadership can establish in a court of law, for this would be the most powerful protection possible for the Tanah Putih farmers.
The DAP is prepared to sue the Kelantan State Government for illegal and unconstitutional acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act without compensation if the Tanah Putih farmers could produce legal title to their land, but up to now, despite my visit to Gua Musang last Sunday with other DAP leaders, no Tanah Putih farmer has been able to do so.
Although the MCA national leadership has been very silent on what action it proposes to take to defend the legal rights and claims of the Tanah Putih farmers, it had not been silent at all on the Tanah Putih issue in the past 48 hours. Through the MCA National Publicity Bureau, the MCA national leadership continued to issue statements to attack the DAP on the Tanah Putih issue and to tell lies about the DAP.
The MCA national leadership seems more interested in turning the Tanah Putih land issue into a political issue, instead of taking concrete steps to defend the legal rights and claims of the Tanah Putih farmers.
I must remind the MCA national leadership that 98 per cent of the Tanah Putih farmers and 100 per cent of the Gua Musang Smallholders Association Committee members are MCA members.
Tanah Putih issue another classic case where the DAP national leaders are prepared to go to the help of MCA members while MCA national leaders are not bothered about the plight of their own members
I still cannot understand why if the top DAP leadership could visit Tanah Putih to discuss the problem with the affected farmers who are MCA members, the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik and other MCA Ministers have not paid a single visit to Tanah Putih in the past three years especially when 98 per cent of the Tanah Putih farmers are MCA members.
This seems to be another classic case where the DAP national leaders are prepared to go to the help of MCA members, while MCA national leaders themselves are not bothered about the plight of their own party members! How can MCA legitimately claim to represent the five million Chinese in Malaysia, when they have abandoned their own MCA members in Tanah Putih?
I must advise the MCA national leadership not to sacrifice the rights and interests of the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers, and it should not be silent any longer on what action it proposes to take to defend the legal rights and claims of the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers.
I would advise the MCA national leadership to stop its propaganda of lies over the Tanah Putih land issue, as in alleging that the DAP is ‘beating the withdrawal drum’, and to concentrate on how to establish and defend the legal rights of the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers as maintained by the MCA.
The DAP is not abandoning the fight for justice and fair play for the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers. But we do not want to undermine or jeopardise their legal rights if the MCA national leadership and the Tanah Putih, Gua Musang MCA are convinced that they have legal rights and claims.
There is no need for the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers to fight for their socio-economic rights over their land, if they have legal rights.
However, once the MCA national leadership has exhausted all avenues to defend the legal rights of the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers, or the MCA national leadership admits that the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers do not have any legal rights or claims, the DAP is prepared to resume its plan to make representation to the Kelantan State Government on the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers.
All that is needed for the DAP to resume its plan to make representation to the Kelantan State Government to respect the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih MCA members and farmers is for the MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong Sik, to officially write to me.