Press Conference Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang,
at DAP PJ Hqrs on Monday, April 22, 1985 at 12 noon.
Sabah general election results a great day for parliamentary democracy in Malaysia.
The Sabah general elections is a great day for parliamentary democracy for Malaysia. The virtually total rejection of Berjaya, and in particular the personal defeats of the former Berjaya Chief Minister Datuk Harris Salleh and seven State Ministers and Six Assistant State Ministers, is a clear-cut and ambiguous proclamation by the people of Sabah of their repudiation of Berjaya politics of fear, money and corruption.
The Berjaya rout is all the more significant for in this general elections
in Sabah, the entire Barisan Nasional leadership and machinery,
whether it be in Peninsula Malaysia or in Sarawak, whether it be UMNO, MCA,
Gerakan, SUPP, SNAP, PBB were mobilized to the support of Berjaya,
giving it to character that it was not just Berjaya that was contesting, but
entire Barisan Nasional in Malaysia! For the first time in Sabah general
elections, all the national leaders of Barisan Nasional campaigned actively
including the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the Deputy
Prime Minister, Datuk Musa Hitam, the UMNO strongman Ghaffar Baba, the
Minister for Agriculture, Anwar Ibrahim, the Minister for National Development
Sanusi Junid, the Sarawak Chief Minister, Taib Mahmud, and MCA and Gerakan
leaders like Tan Koon Swan, Ker Choo Ting, Goh Cheng Teik.
But their threats together with Berjaya campaign of fear, money and corruption,
were of no avail. The Sabah state general elections results is therefore not only a
repudiation of Berjaya and Harris Salleh, but also a repudiation of the
Barisan Nasional leaders and policies.
With the Berjaya out, the Berjaya has no more credibility or legitimacy to remain in the
Federal Cabinet, and the Berjaya Cabinet Minister Datuk James Ongkili and its
Deputy Federal Territory Minister, should resign immediately.
We in the DAP are disappointed that our three DAP candidates
in Tanjunq Papat, Karamunsing and Elopura, were unsuccessful, but we realise
that in the Sabah general elections on Apxil 20 and 21, 1985, the people of
Sabah were united in one overwhelming purpose, to kick out Datuk Harris Salleh
and Parti Berjaya. I am confident and convinced that the voters in the three
Sandakan seats contested by the DAP were not voting against the DAP to reject
the DAP, but want to make doubly sure that Berjaya would be thoroughly routed.
The Sabah DAP had played an important role all these years
to resist and highlight the arrogance, abuse of power and the politics of
fear, money and corruption of the Berjaya State Government, and
despite our defeats in Sabah, we join the people of Sabah and Malaysia
in the rejoicing over the toppling of the Harris Salleh government of Berjaya.
While the people of Sabah and Malaysia rejoice in the overthrow of the
Harris Salleh government of Berjaya, they should also give thought to
the 1976 general elections in Sabah which led to the overthrow of the
USNO government Berjaya, when there was an equally great rejoicing.
The people must remember the lessons of history if they are not to repeat
the mistakes of history. This was actually the primary purpose of the
three DAP candidature, so that in the Sabah State legislative assembly, there
would be separated, articulate and independent voice to ensure the
PBS government would not end up as a second Berjaya, one decade later.
I congratulate Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan for the PBS victory. The people of
Sabah deserve real change and effective solution of the many long standing
problems afflicting them like rampant corruption and abuse of power of
political leaders, Filipino refugees and illegal Indonesian immigrants,
inter-ethnic, inter-cultural equality and harmony, and even a second
look at the Labuan issue