by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Thursday, January 19, 1995:
MCA National Publicity Bureau should advise the secretary of the Gua Musang Branch of the National Smallholders Association to reply to my letter so that I could arrange a visit to Gua Musang
The latest statement by the MCA National Publicity Bureau is a desperate attempt by the MCA national leadership to redeem its reputation after it had committed the ‘biggest political blunder in 1995’ in unable to produce proof to substantiate the MCA allegation that the Kelantan State Government had acquired 1,000 acres of 500 Chinese smallholders at Tanah Putih, Gua Musang under the Land Acquisition Act without compensation.
I had given the MCA President, Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik three opportunities in ten days to produce such proof, and there is no doubt that he would have produced such proof if the MCA leadership and in particular the MCA National Publicity Bureau were not telling lies and untruths.
The MCA National Publicity Bureau should advise the secretary of the Gua Musang Branch of the National Smallholders Association, Cheong Tai Onn to reply to my letter to him last week so that I could arrange a visit to Gua Musang.
In my letter, I asked Cheong Tai Onn to clarify two matters:
*(i) that the issue is not a case of the Kelantan State Government acquiring 1,000 acres of 500 Chinese smallholders at Tanah Putih, Gua Musang under the Land Acquisition Act without compensation as claimed by MCA; and
*(ii) why his letter dated 14th December 1994 did not reach me until 26 days later, and why before I received the letter, the MCA National Publicity Bureau knew of its contents and could issue two press statements making a false claim to try to use it as ‘political ammunition’ against the DAP.
I made it clear to Cheong Tai Onn that the circumstances of his letter and the MCA National Publicity Bureau statements raised the question as to whether his only interest was to provide political ammunition to the MCA and to play politics with the MCA against the DAP.
I have received information that Cheong Tai Onn is an active MCA Youth official in Gua Musang. If this is true, then the MCA National Publicity Bureau should advise Cheong Tai Onn to reply to my letter so that I could arrange a visit to Gua Musang to meet the Tanah Putih smallholders to discuss their problems.