MCA national leadership should stop sabotaging DAP efforts to fight for the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih farmers and should declare categorically whether it is going to take any action to defend the legal rights and claims of Tanah Putih farmers and MCA member’s

Press Conference Statement (2) by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP Headquarters in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, February 11, 1995 at 11 a.m. to launch three new DAP books

MCA national leadership should stop sabotaging DAP efforts to fight for the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih farmers and should declare categorically whether it is going to take any action to defend the legal rights and claims of Tanah Putih farmers and MCA member’s

The MCA national leadership should stop sabotaging DAP efforts to fight for the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih farmer’s and should declare categorically whether it is going to take any action to defend the legal rights and claims of Tanah Putih farmers and MCA members.

After the visit of the DAP delegation to Tanah Putih, Gua Musang last Sunday, I had announced that as no Tanah Putih farmer could produce title to prove legal ownership of the land, the DAP is prepared to fight for the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih farmers with the Kelantan State Government, as in demanding that the Kelantan State Government abandon its plan to take back the Tanah Putih land for the settlement of squatter in Gua Musang, or giving adequate compensation whether in terms of alternative land or monetary recompense.

However, before the DAP could fully prepare the socio-economic case of the Tanah Putih farmers by getting a complete picture of the opening and cultivation of the Tanah Putih area by the farmers, going as far back as 25 years ago, the MCA national leadership started to sabotage the DAP from fighting for the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih farmers with the Kelantan State Government.

Within 24 hours of the visit of the DAP delegation to Tanah Putih, the MCA National Publicity Bureau issued a statement insisting that the Tanah Putih farmers – 98 per cent of whom are MCA members – have legal rights and claims to Tanah Putih land,, suggesting that the DAP would be betraying and rights of the Tanah Putih farmers and MCA members if the DAP concede that the Tanah Putih farmers have no legal title and fight for their socio-economic rights to the Tanah Putih land.

At the dialogue with the Tanah Putih farmers in Tanah Putih on Sunday, I was asked by the Committee of the Gua Musang Branch of the Smallholders Association – 100 per cent of which are self-admitted MCA members – to make representation to the Kelantan State Government to cancel its plan to take back the Tanah Putih land to resettle squatters in Gua Musang, and to select another piece of land for such a purpose.

When I agreed to the request to transmit the demand of the Committee of the Gua Musang Branch of the Smallholders Association to the Kelantan State Government, the MCA national leadership through the MCA National Publicity Bureau, issued statements claiming that I would be betraying and sacrificing the rights of the Tanah Putih farmers and MCA members if I do not institute legal actions against the Kelantan State Government.

The MCA national leadership has not explained why if it is convinced that the Tanah Putih farmers have legal rights and claims, it has not instituted any legal action to defend and uphold their legal status in the past three years – especially as 98 per cent of the Tanah Putin farmers are MCA members.

All that the MCA national leadership is interested is to ‘play polities’ with the Tanah Putin land issue. Thus, when I agreed to the request of the Tanah Putih MCA members to transmit their demand to the Kelantan State Government, I am accused of ‘selling out’ the legal rights, interests and claims of the Tanah Putih farmers. I would be similarly accused of betraying the rights and interests of the Tanah Putih farmers if I had rejected such a request.

I am therefore put in a position where I am wrong when I agreed to the request of the Tanah Putih farmers and MCA members, and also wrong if I reject the request of the Tanah Putih farmers and MCA members.

How irresponsible can the MCA national leadership get?

I advise the MCA national leadership to stop playing games about the rights and interests of the Tanah Putih farmers and MCA members.

If the MCA leadership is not prepared to take all necessary action to defend and uphold the legal rights of the Tanah Putih farmers, including going to court, this shows that the MCA leadership does not believe its claims that the Tanah Putih farmers have legal rights. In these circumstances, the MCA leadership should not sabotage the DAP’s plans to fight for the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih farmers who are also MCA members.

The DAP, however, will not pursue with the Kelantan State Government the socio-economic rights of the Tanah Putih farmers unless the MCA national leadership has taken all necessary action to vindicate the legal rights of the Tanah Putih farmers, or admit that the Tanah Putih farmers have no legal rights and claims to their land as the DAP does not want to be accused of betraying the legal rights and claims of the Tanah Putih farmers and MCA members.