Category: Time Bombs in Malaysia

Book: Time Bombs in Malaysia
by Lim Kit Siang
First Edition: May 1978; Second Edition: July 1978

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Foreword by Dr Chan Man Hin (27 May, 1978)

Introduction: The DAP in Parliament (25 May, 1978)

Second edition Special Commentary: The 1978 General Elections: DAP’s Finest Hour (28 July, 1978)

Post-script – On Fan Yew Teng’s resignation (28 May, 1978)

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Nation Building, Democracy and Corruption

1. A New Malaysian Order (27 Jan, 1976)

2. NEP’s New Injustices and Inequalities (22 Mar, 1978)

3. Democratisation of Malaysian Life (11 May, 1972)

4. Royal Commission of Inquiry in National Unity (31 Mar, 1976)

5. The Batik Curtain in Malaysia (9 Nov, 1974)

6. Why local governments should be elected (11 Feb, 1972)

7. A law to prevent defections (21 Mar, 1978)

8. Why NBI must be an independent agency (25 Oct, 1977)

9. Corruption in high political places (27 Oct, 1975)

The New Economu Policy, Malaysian Plans and Budgets

1. The Second Malaysia Plan 1970-1975 (14 July, 1971)

2. Twenty -Year neglect of the 750,000 new villages (13 Dec, 1971)

3. A Cheap food policy (11 Aug, 1972)

4. Sales tax and gaming tax (12 Jan, 1972)

5. Mid-term review: Second Malaysia Plan (27 Nov, 1973)

6. Inflation and the pay packet (11 Dec, 1973)

7. On a National Oil Policy (8 Jan, 1974)

8. Income tax reform (20 Nov, 1974)

9. The weakened Ringgit (10 Nov, 1975)

10. The Third Malaysian Plan and the Time-bombs in Malaysia (20 July, 1976)

11. Security and development (28 July, 1976)

12. Educational tax rebate proposal (1 Nov, 1976)

13. Industrial Co-ordination Act (1 Nov, 1977)

Human Rights and Constitutional Guarantees

1. International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights 1966 (26 Oct, 1977)

2. Human Rights Commission in Malaysia (27 Oct, 1977)

3. The Security cases regulations (19 Dec, 1975)

4. The 14-year-old condemned boy – aftermath (24 Oct, 1977)

5. Chian Heng Kai and Chan Kok Kit: Detention under ISA (22 Mar, 1977)

6. The Sword of Damocles in Parliament (23 Feb, 1971)

7. Conscience of the Malaysian Constitution (12 Jul, 1976)

8. The disenfranchisement of Kuala Lumpur (9 Jul, 1973)

9. NOC rule in Kelantan (8 Nov, 1978)

Education and Labour

1. Call for a unku Abdul Rahman Commission of Inquiry on Education (7 Dec, 1977)

2. Deteriorating standards of education (24 Jan, 1972)

3. Future of Chinese and Tamil primary schools (not available)

4. Government medical brain drain (10 Dec, 1976)

5. Minimum wage law for workers (17 Jul, 1974)

6. Job security for workers (5 Jul, 1976)

7. 1976 Employment (Amendment) Bill – management’s delight and workers’ curse (5 Jul, 1976)

Additional Speeches

1. Detention of Datuk James Wong (9 Dec, 1975)

2. Hunger strike by political detainees (16 Apr, 1974)

3. The 1972 mass MCE Bahasa Malaysia failures (18 Apr, 1973)

4. The Malacca Hospital mass death (1) (15 Jan, 1974)

The 1978 General Elections: DAP’s Finest Hour

The National Front set out to wipe out the DAP in the 1978 General elections, not by besting the DAP in a democratic contest of ideas, policies and programmes, but by holding the most undemocratic general elections in the history of Malaysia.

National Front strategists planned to make Polling DAY, July 8, the DAP’s darkest day. It turned out to be the DAP’s finest hour.

The DAP literally fought the 1978 general elections with our hands tied behind our backs, our moths sealed, while “brave” National Front leaders punched and kicked us all over the body, some even administering Siamese kicks. From outside the electoral “ring”, the New Straits Times, the Star, the Utusan papers, Television and Radio Malaysia, directed missiles at the DAP. National Front strategists had thought that the DAP would not be able to last more than a few rounds. But the DAP, with the people’s support, not only firmly stood our ground for the entire fifteen rounds of the electoral contest, and did not collapse, we were able to floor the Barisan Nasional, particularly Datuk Lee San Choon, Dr Lim Chong Eu and Tan Sri Manickavasagam. Continue reading Time Bombs in Malaysia: Second edition Special Commentary

(When this book was in the press, news came that Fan Yew Teng had announced his resignation from the party accompanied by a long tract giving the reasons for his resignations. Reproduced here is the press statement which I made on May 28, 1978 on Fan’s resignation – LKS)

On Fan Yew Teng’s resignation

I have not yet received Fan Yew Teng’s letter of resignation from the Party, apart from press reports.

Fan Yew Teng was one the DAP leaders victimised and persecuted for leadership in Opposition politics, spending five years from 1971-75 in a sedition trial which went up twice to the Privy Council, and which ended in conviction with its concomitant consequences of disqualification as a Member of Parliament and State Assemblyman. Continue reading Time Bombs in Malaysia: Post-script

FOREWORD

by Dr Chen Man Hin, National Chairman of Democratic Action Party, Member of Parliament (Seremban) 1969-1978, State Assemblyman for Rahang, Negeri Sembilan 1965-1978

THE Democratic Action Party contested its first general elections in 1969 and won 13 Parliamentary and 31 State Assembly seats. In the 1974 General Elections, nine DAP Members of Parliament and 23 State Assemblymen were returned.

In the last decade, the DAP has emerged as the most consistent and out-spoken critic of the National Front Government, both inside and outside Parliament, on its failure to build a multi-racial Malaysian nation where the focus of loyalty especially for the post-Merdeka generation is nation rather than race, class exploitation, corruption, violation of human rights, undemocratic practices, government mal-administration and abuse of power. Continue reading Time Bombs in Malaysia: Foreword by Dr Chan Man Hin

Introduction: The DAP in Parliament

This collection of my parliamentary speeches offers a glimpse of history and politics in the make in Malaysia in the last decade. Space has necessitated speeches on other important issues to be omitted.

The exclusive confinement in this collection to parliamentary speeches reflects the important the DAP places on the parliamentary democratic process in which Parliament occupies the apex of power.

Unfortunately, the DAP experience with parliamentary democracy had not been a pleasant one. We found, especially in the 1969-1974 Parliamentary session, that the ruling party was wont to use its parliamentary majority to abuse and pervert parliamentary procedures and conventions for petty political advantage. Continue reading Time Bombs in Malaysia: Introduction