Statement by Dap Organising Secretary and Parliamentary Candidate for Bandar Melaka, Mr. Lim Kit Siang, on 4th May 1969
At the Party Rakyat public rally at Tranquerah, the Party Rakyat Parliamentary candidate, Inche Hasnul bin Hadi, has defended Sukarno’s persecution of Chinese in Indonesia.
Inche Hasnul claimed that Sukarno was not anti-Chinese. Then could Inche Hasnul explain why Sukarno persecuted the Chinese mercilessly in Indonesia, and won for himself the name as the greatest persecutor of Chinese, not only in Indonesia, but in South East Asia and the world.
Instead of condemning Sukarno’s anti-Chinese persecutions, Inche Hasnul bin Hadi was only praise and admiration for Sukarno. It is clear Inche Hasnul fully supported Sukarno, who stripped the Chinese in Indonesia of their basic rights, expropriated their property, removed their Chinese names and forced them to use Indonesian names, like Rudi Hartono, the world famous badminton player, who is an Indonesian of Chinese origin, closed down Chinese schools, eliminated Chinese newspapers, and even massacred and slaughtered the Chinese.
We also know that when Sukarno tried to extend his anti-Chinese activities into Malaysia during the Indonesian Confrontation period, Party Rakyat and Inche Hasnul took Sukarno’s side.
It is clear from this whether Inche Hasnul can really fight for racial, cultural and language equality in Malaysia. He wants to model Malaysia after Sukarno’s Indonesia, where the Chinese are persecuted out of sight.
This is why Inche Hasnul’s Party Rakyat faithfully follows Indonesian inspiration. Even its symbol of the bull’s head was taken from Sukarno’s national crest for Indonesia. Party Rakyat’s bull can never be found in Malaysia. They are only to be found in Indonesia.
This is also why in its 1969 General Elections Manifesto, the Party Rakyat called for an education system which will only permit the existence and functioning of Malay schools. The Party Rakyat wants all Chinese, English and Tamil schools to be eliminated.
On the fundamental battle between a Malaysian Malaysia, as led by the DAP, and a Malay Malaysia, as led by the UMNO, the Party Rakyat will throw in its weight behind the UMNO.
This is why the Party Rakyat is deadly opposed to Chinese, English and Tamil becoming official languages. The Party Rakyat wants Sukarno’s Model to be implemented in Malaysia. The Party Rakyat wants a ‘one nation, one language, one culture’ Malaysia.