Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the Penang DAP State Committee Chinese New Year gathering held at DAP Penang headquarters at Kinta Lane, Penang on Saturday, 19th February 1994 at 8 p.m.
Penang State Government and MPPP should allow the restoration of the Kuan Yin statue at Kek Lok Si to its original 121 ft in keeping with a more open and liberal political situation in the 1990s
Penang DAP calls on the Penang State Government and the MPPP to allow to restoration of the Kuan Yin statue at Kek Lok Si to its original 121 ft in keeping with a more open and liberal political situation in the 1990s.
The rebuilding of the original 121-ft Kuan Yin statue will be a testament to the freedom of religion in Malaysia.
Furthermore, it would become a world tourist attraction which will enhance the tourist treasury of Penang and Malaysia.
The Penang State Government has said that the Cabinet has given the greenlight for Penang to be promoted as a tourist destination instead as part of a Malaysian package.
This is an additional reason for allowing the original 121-ft Kuan Yin statue to be rebuilt.
If the Penang State Government and the MPPP are still not prepared to allow the construction of the original 121-ft Kuan Yin statue at Kek Lok Si, then the more ‘open and liberal’ political situation has not come to Penang yet!
If the Penang State Government and the MPPP are not prepared to allow a 121-ft Kuan Yin statue to be built in Penang, then they should explain what are the reasons for their objec¬tions this time.
Tsu Koon should break his silence as to whether Penang State Government is prepared to emulate the Sabah example by making annual allocations to the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in Penang
Tsu Koon should break his silence as to whether the Penang State Government is prepared to emulate the Sabah example by making annual allocations to the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in Penang.
During the Sabah state general elections campaign, the Sandakan Education Department organised an educational talk for Tsu Koon, but he abused this function by turning it into an election campaign for the Barisan Nasional.
It is ironic that Tsu Koon did not admit that Sabah is superior to Penang in that the Sabah state government gives annual allocation to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools which is not done in Penang, although Penang fas the only Chinese Chief Minister in the country.
I had announced that if Tsu Koon is not prepared to move a supplementary estimates Bill in the next Penang State-Assembly to approve annual allocations for the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, the DAP will move a motion for the second time since December 1990 in the next State Assembly to direct the Penang Chief Minister to make such annual allocations.
Will Koh Tsu Koon and the other six Gerakan Exco and Assemblymen again team up with the UMNO Assemblymen to oppose and vote against this DAP motion as they had done in December 1990?