Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General DAP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the Mobilisation Meeting of Penang Island DAP members held at DAP Penang Hqrs, Lorong Kinta on Monday, 23rd May 1994 at 8.30.pm
Penang will he the ‘engine-head’ in the campaign in the next general elections for a full liberali-sation of nation-building policies to give every Malaysian an equal place under the Malaysian sun
This mobilisation meeting of Penang Island DAP members is to communicate the unmistakable message and signal that the next general elections is around the corner, and the entire party mid all members should be on a full mobilisation footing.
The next general elections can be held any time from September onwards and there is no excuse for any DAP branch to be caught unprepared.
The next general elections will be the seventh general elections to be fought by the DAP and it will represent the third phase of DAP’s political and parliamentary struggle.
In the first phase of the DAP’s parliamentary struggle from 1969 to 1990, the DAP fought and checked extremist nation-building forces and elements in the country which wanted to create a ‘one-language, one-culture and one-religion’ Malaysia.
The 1970s and the first half of the 1980s were the most dangerous years and the greatest threat to a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-religious and democratic Malaysia, and the DAP fought a lone battle in Parliament and the Malaysian political arena to keep alive the vision of a Malaysian Malaysia.
The second phase stemmed from 1990 general elections when the DAP’s second consecutive general elections success forced UMNO to compete with DAP for support from the urban Malaysians and this led the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed to initiate minor and limited liberalisation in certain economic and educational fields.
The third phase would be the next general elections, where the DAP would be fighting for a full and major liberalisation of the nation-building policies in the country, whether political, economic, educational, cultural or religious, so as to give every Malaysian citizen an equal place under the Malaysian sun.
In this third and the greatest political battle to be fought by the DAP, Penang will be the engine-head in the cam¬paign in the next general elections for full and major liberali¬sation of nation-building policies in Malaysia.
The success of ‘Tanjong 3’ for DAP to capture the Penang state government is crucial to the entire plan and strategy to bring about full and major liberalisation of nation-building policies in the country after the next general elections.
Keng Yaik and Gerakan is a serious obstacle to the campaign for full and major liberalisation of nation-building policies
The Gerakan President, Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik and the Gerakan will be serious obstacle to the campaign for full and major liberalisation of nation-building policies to give every Malaysian citizen an equal place under the Malaysian sun.
Already, Keng Yaik is going round the country shouting that DAP’s call for full and major liberalisation of nation-building policies is a chauvinistic campaign.
It is very sad that KengYaik and the Gerakan leaders are prepared to block the legitimate aspirations of Malaysians to equality and justice so that they could continue to be alloted a few Federal and State government positions.
DAP will leave it to the people of Malaysia to decide whether they will support the DAP’s campaign for a full and major liberalisation of nation-building policies in the next general elections, and the people of Penang to decide whether they are prepared to be the ‘engine-head’ of such a historic movement by crowing the DAP’s Tanjong 3 campaign to capture the Penang State Government with success.