Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in the Chinese Assembly Hall on Monday, 3rd September 1984 at 9 p.m.
DAP calls for resignation of Harris Salleh as Sabah Chief Minister as his continuance will be a daily reminder of the emptiness of the 2M motto of a ‘Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Government’ and the 1984 National Day Theme of ‘Trust is the Foundation of Success’
Just now, I repeated my Parliamentary speech of July 23 on Harris Salleh – the speech with Datuk Harris Salleh challenged me to repeat in Sandakan on August 27 at the Dewan Masyarayat at 10 a.m. However, when together with Sdr. Karpal Singh and Sdr. Hu Sepang, I flew over to Kota Kinabalu enroute to Sandakan, Datuk Harris Salleh frustrated the performance of my art of the bargain in his challenge by disallowing my entry into Sabah.
Although I had been frustrated from repeating my parliamentary speech in Sandakan, I had done so at the Chinese Assembly Hall tonight. Although I had given Datuk Harris Salleh advance notice, and even offered to pay for his first-class return airfare, he lacked the courage to attend.
He had said that he would protest strongly to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker about my speech which described him as ‘shifty, evasive and far from honest and sincere’ in his appearance before the Privileges Committee. Datuk Harris Salleh should know that it is utterly useless for him to protest to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker about my speech, for it is completely outside the Speaker’s jurisdiction unless he wants to lodge an official report that I had committed a breach of privilege.
I challenge Datuk Harris Salleh to report me to the Committee of Privileges. I know he dare not do so, for he would be laughed out of the Committee for being an ignoramus and simpleton.
Anyway, there is no need for him to protest in vain to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker. Now that I had repeated my July 23 Parliamentary speech without the protection of parliamentary privilege, Datuk Harris Salleh could sue me in court for defamation or slander. I am prepared to meet him in court any time!
Datuk Harris’ Second Challenge
On August 24, Datuk Harris Salleh threw me a second challenge, when he challenged me to make a direct accusation against him for breaching the Sabah State Constitution by being a director of three companies so that he could have the opportunity to take the matter to the courts.
I had accepted his second challenge to make the direct accusation in Sandakan on August 27, but again, Datuk Harris Salleh frustrated my performance by denying me entry into Sabah.
I am accepting and performing Datuk Harris Salleh’s second challenge to give him an opportunity to take me to court to clear himself:
I, Lim Kit Siang, at the Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur on 3rd September 1984 hereby directly accuse Datuk Harris Salleh, Sabah Chief Minister, of breaching Sabah State Constitution Article 6(5), which prohibits the Sabah Chief Minister of actively engaging in any commercial enterprise, as Datuk Harris Salleh had been director of at least three companies during his tenure of office, namely Dua Bersaudara Sdn. Bhd., Empat Bersaudari Sdn. Bhd and Sejati Sdn. Bhd.
Now, let us see whether Datuk Harris dare to sue me in court or not, ot this is another of his empty bombast!
Datuk Harris had defaulted on these two challenges he issued to me, and he has henceforth forfeited all right to make another challenge to me, or to any other person pr on any subject for he had proved to be a politician who should not be taken seriously. He should go into the Guinness Book of Records as a political leader who issued and backed down from two challenges in a short period of 21 days!
Incidentally, Datuk Harris Salleh had not replied on whether he himself or the Sabah people through the Sabah government are paying for the $18925 he had spent to advertise in three newspapers his third and ‘final’ challenge to me, although he still owed me two outstanding challenges!
Datuk Harris Salleh has made a lasting and permanent contribution to Malaysian politics, for now ‘doing a Harris’ would be a popular local political or everyday term to mean reneging or chickening out of a challenge after the person to whom it had been issued had accepted it.
DAP officially launches the ‘Defend Sabah State Constitution’ Campaign to preserve its sanctity from the Three Musketeers of Sabah – Datuk Harris Salleh, Datuk Mohammad Noor Mansor and Tan Sri Haji Sunoh Marso
Tonight, the DAP officially launches the ‘Defend Sabah State Constitution Campaign’, which will be headed by Sdr. Fung Ket Wing, DAP MP for Sandakan.
The Defend Sabah State Constitution Campaign will have three objectives:
Firstly, to make Sabahans and Malaysians aware of the people’s constitutional rights and the duties and obligations of political and governmental leaders and to demand a remedy where government leaders had breached the spirit and substance of the Federal and Sabah State Constitution;
Secondly, to demand a higher political, ethical and moral standard of political leaders in Sabah and Malaysia;
Thirdly, to expose violations of the Sabah State Constitution and the laws of the land and to challenge their legality and constitutionality in the courts if necessary, with the support of the people.
The Sabah State Constitution and the concept of high political, ethical and moral stancards by political leaders are presently facing a grave threat by the Three Musketeers of Berjaya, namely Datuk Harris Salleh, the Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Mohamed Noor Mansor and the Sabah Assembly Speaker, Tan Sri Haji Sunoh Marso.
In the case of Datuk Mohamed Noor Mansor, I had challenged him to swear on the Quran that he had not said in Malacca on August 27 that the Sabah State Government would never allow me to enter Sabah because I was an ‘undesirable element’ and that ‘it would be stupid for any government to allow such people to come into the State and create trouble’. No response from the Sabah Finance Minister so far.
In the case of Tan Sri Haji Marso, he had acted unlawfully and in bad faith when he disregarded an earlier letter of revocation by Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Assemblyman for Tambunan, of his undated letter of resignation in the hands of Harris Salleh, by announcing on a Sunday that he had received the letter sent by Harris Salleh; especially when the Courts have held that such letters are illegal as against public policy.
As for Datuk Harris Salleh, his breach of Article 6(5) of the Sabah State Constitution is uncontestable and unchallengeable by anyone, yet Datuk Harris Salleh could be so lacking of political morality and propriety as to hang on to the office of Sabah Chief Minister.
Datuk Harris Salleh should resign as Sabah Chief Minister as his continuance in that office will be a daily reminder of the f the emptiness of the 2M government’s motto of ‘Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy’ and the 1984 National Day Theme of ‘Trust is the Foundation of Success.’
DAP calls on Dr. Mahathir to review the effectiveness of private declaration of assets to him by Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Chief Ministers and Mentri Besar
The Harris Salleh case has demonstrated that private declaration of assets by Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Chief Ministers, Mentri Besar and State Ministers or Executive Councillors, are of no effect to ensure a clean, honest and trustworthy leadership, or even to prevent the Breach of the Sabah State Constitution.
Harris Salleh has claimed that he had the permission of the Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, to breach Article 6(5) of the Sabah State Constitution. The Prime Minister has not said a word, although I had asked him to clarify the position. This could only mean that Dr. Mahathir has been extremely embarrassed by Harris Salleh’s claim.
With the Harris Salleh case in mind, the DAP calls on the Prime Minister to review the effectiveness of private declaration of assets to him by Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Chief Ministers and Memtri Besar, and to require these declarations to be made public and annual, so that they are subject to public scrutiny as to their integrity and non-incorruptibility.
I will enter Sabah through Labuan
My right to enter Sabah via Kota Kinabalu is now the subject of a court action. I will now test my right to enter Sabah through Labuan. Datuk Harris Salleh has said more than twice that I could enter Sabah through Labuan, although recently, some of his subordinates have been ‘doing a Harris’ by back-tracking and denying it.
I will enter Sabah through Labuan, to test my right of entry through the Federal Territory.
I will enter Sabah through Labuan at a date and time of my convenience.