Tanjong Piai by-election has reversed the role of by-elections before May 9, 2018 – where government coalition calls for continued  fight against corruption and abuses of power while the Opposition stands for a  return to corruption and abuse of power of past government

The voters of Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election will go to the polls on Saturday, 16h November.

Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election has reversed the role of general elections and by-elections before the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 –  as the  government coalition calls for continued fight against corruption and abuses of power to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy to a leading nation of integrity in the world in a decade’s time, while the Opposition stands for a return to the corruption and abuses of power of the past government.

This is why the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election is important as a marker of future direction of the nation-building policies in the country – whether we continue in the reform agenda of the Pakatan Harapan government despite the missteps and mistakes of the past 18 months, or whether we abandon these reform programmes altogether.

The stand of Muafakat Nasional of PAS, UMNO and MCA on the 1MDB scandal is the best illustration – for up to now, they are united in denying that there is a 1MDB scandal although the whole world knows about the 1MDB scandal and the roles of Najib Razak and Jho Low in it, several bankers have been jailed in foreign countries for their role in the scandal and the Malaysian government is paying  heavily in terms of tens of billions of ringgit for the 1MDB debts when the money  could be used for the people’s welfare.

There are those who want the reform agenda of the Pakatan Harapan government to stumble and fail, especially those  bigwigs in the former government  who hope that this development will ensure that they will not be spending the rest of their lives in prison because of their past monstrous corruption and abuses of power.

It is important that those who are disappointed by the pace of reform agenda as they had hoped to expect a faster progress of change in the first 18 months of Pakatan Harapan government must not fall into the trap of the corrupt kleptocrats who hope to make use of them to defeat the Pakatan Harapan agenda for a New Malaysia to become  a top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity.

These corrupt kleptocrats do not want to see Malaysia become a top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity because there would be no room or opportunity for them for corruption and abuses of power.

The Tanjong Piai by-election has proved to  be a WhatsApp by-election, where the greatest influence on the voters are not the print newspapers by what the voters  get on their mobile phones every second of the day.

I have not seen more lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech through WhatsApp messages than in the past few days and tomorrow there will be a further explosion of these lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech as it is the eve of Polling Day.

One constant theme in the lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech is the message to the Malay voters   that under the Pakatan Harapan government, the Malays and Muslims have lost their political power and rights because DAP is “power behind the throne” in Putrajaya, while the message to the Chinese voters is the exact opposite – that the Chinese have lost their rights and position because the DAP had sold them out to Bersatu.

The Tanjong Piai by-election will be a test of the media literacy of the Tanjong Piai voters on their ability to see through the lies and falsehood of these  contradictory allegations to different racial and religious groups.

Pakatan Harapan stands for the co-operation of the different races and religions in the country and upholds the fundamental features of the Malaysian Constitution, for this is the only formula for Malaysia to become an united, harmonious, progressive and prosperous  nation as extreme positions of race and religion can only jeopardise future generations and  tear Malaysia apart.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the Pakatan Harapan Tanjong Piai by-election ceramah in Pekan Nenas on Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 8.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 November 2019, 10:22 am and is filed under
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The real story behind Wee Jeck Seng’s 20-hour political acrobatics of courage and bravery

It is most extraordinary that the PAS, UMNO and MCA candidate for Tanjong Piai, Wee Jeck Seng, should be playing the “disappearance” game at the most important MCA by-election media conference yesterday, which would be the last day the media conference would be covered by the media as whatever said today would not be reported tomorrow, the polling day for Tanjong Piai by-election.

Why was Jack Seng conspicuously absent at the MCA’s last and most important media conference yesterday?

Here is the real story behind Jeck Seng’s 20-hour political acrobatics of courage and bravery and his “disappearance” game.

On Wednesday at 7.48 pm., Jeck Seng posted on his Facebook that
“MCA unites to oppose Jawi”
, which lasted for some 20 hours, but at 4.41 pm yesterday, this particular line was amended to read:
 “MCA unites to oppose the addition of Jawi khat (calligraphy) in the Bahasa Malaysia curriculum in Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools”.

Why did Jeck Seng disappear from the last and  most important MCA media conference in the by-election yesterday?

We are not saints and we are capable of making mistakes. Is there anything wrong with Jeck Seng admitting that he had been wrong to put up his original posting, that the pressure from Muafakat Nasional of PAS and UMNO was too powerful for him to resist for  more than 20 hours and that he had to back-track, withdraw  and amend his Facebook?

No, it is not so.

Jeck Seng knew  that if he had attended the media conference, he would be asked by the media to explain a number of things.

Firstly, why he put up the original posting that
“MCA unites to oppose Jawi”
and why he bowed down to pressure from Muafakat Nasional of UMNO and PAS to delete and amend his original posting.

Secondly, Jeck Seng would be further asked with regard to his amended posting that
 “MCA unites to oppose the addition of Jawi khat (calligraphy) in the Bahasa Malaysia curriculum in Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools”
, why he as MP for Tanjong Piai for two terms had not objected as
“the addition of Jawi khat (calligraphy) in the Bahasa Malaysia curriculum in Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools”
had first happened during his two terms as Member of Parliament for Tanjong Piai?

The questions would not end here.

In fact, it would lead to questions about the Education Ministry Curriculum Committee meeting on Sept. 21, 2015 which was chaired by the then Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and attended by the two Deputy Education Ministers at the time, Datuk Chong Sin Woon (MCA) and P. Kamalanathan (MIC) which decided that new textbooks for Chinese/Tamil primary schools would introduce Jawi  subject for Std 4 pupils in 2020.

This would mean that former  claims by MCA leaders that they did not know about the proposal  to have Jawi in Std. IV Bahasa Malaysia texbooks for Chinese and Tamil primary schools were simply lies and do not stand up to examination, as  the revised curriculum to introduce Jawi in Std. IV was decided by MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and UMNO Ministers in Sept. 2015.

This would also put the MCA President,  Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong on the spot, for he was a Minister in Najib Razak’s Cabinet in 2015, and cannot claim that he did not know about the Education Ministry Curriculum Committee decision  in September 2015 for the full implementation  to include Jawi in the revised textbooks from 2020 onwards.

The Jawi subject controversy was a legacy of the former government, as  after the final decision of the Education Ministry Curriculum Committee on Sept; 21, 2015,  it became an administrative matter for the relevant Education Ministry divisions to implement the policy decision.

If there had been no change of government in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, the implementation of the Education Ministry decision on new curriculum in Sept. 2015 would result in students in  Chinese/Tamil  primary schools from Std. 4 upwards to learn to read, write and to be examined in   Jawi.

But as a result of intervention of  DAP Ministers in Cabinet, Jawi is  now an optional result and it is not necessary for Chinese and Tamil primary school students to learn to read, write or  to be examined in Jawi.

Jeck Seng disappeared from the last and most important MCA media conference yesterday because all these facts would have to come out, which is not in favour MCA leaders or MCA.

In the past few days, Jeck Seng had been evading questions about integrity whether about the RM150 million Vehicle Entry Permit  (VEP) system or his stewardship as Chairman of Labuan Port Authority, but with such an ambivalent  stance, one can understand why in his two terms as MP for Tanjong Piai, he did not ask a single question on the 1MDB scandal and why the people of Tanjong Piai cannot depend on him in the mission to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy to a leading nation of integrity in the  world.

What is most noteworthy is the former Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke in a Muafakat Nasional  by-election ceramah in Tanjong Piai last night – which is the first time Najib had ever spoken on stage after his catastrophic 14th General Election results.

Clearly, Najib is hoping that Tanjong Piai by-election will be a stepping-stone not only for the Barisan Nasional to return to power, but for him to become Prime Minister again.

When the voters of Tanjong Piai cast their vote tomorrow, this is one consideration they have to take into account.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Pontian on Friday, 15th November 2019)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 November 2019, 12:05 pm and is filed under
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DAP and Pakatan Harapan accept the devastating result of the Tanjong Piai voters who spoke not only  on behalf of themselves but of the country at their frustration  and unhappiness at the pace of reforms since May 9, 2018

Firstly, let me congratulate Wee Jeck Seng on being elected Member of Parliament for Tanjong Piai yesterday.

DAP and Pakatan Harapan accept the devastating result of the Tanjong Piai voters who spoke not only on behalf of themselves but of the country at their frustration and unhappiness at the pace of reforms since the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

This will the first agenda of DAP and  Pakatan Harapan after the Tanjong Piai by-election.

The devastating  Tanjong Piai by-election result has given greater urgency and importance to the review of the pace and implementation of the  reforms  promised by Pakatan Harapan, especially those contained in Buku Harapan in the 14th General Election Manifesto, for which  the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council had established a special review committee.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 17th November 2019)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 November 2019, 9:07 am and is filed under
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DAP will not be MCA2 or Pakatan Harapan become BN2, for the simple reason that DAP and Pakatan Harapan are committed to the agenda to reset nation building policies to build a New Malaysia – objectives which the MCA, UMNO, Barisan Nasional and Muafakat Nasional are opposed

On Friday, I attended a youth camp at Janda Baik and the topic I was asked to talk about was:
“Is the idea of a Malaysian an empty dream?”

This was particularly pertinent, as only a week earlier, Pakatan Harapan was given a drubbing in the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election, where Pakatan Harapan not only lost the seat which it had clinched with a slim majority of 524 votes 18 months earlier in the 14th General Election, but lost it with a landslide majority of 15,086 votes.

If the Tanjong Piai by-election is a harbinger of the 15th General Election in 2023, then the Pakatan Harapan government would be a one-term government and would be voted out of Putrajaya in the next general election.

But do Malaysians want a return of the UMNO-BN government, which would come back under the guise of Muafakat Nasional with PAS, and the quandary of the country which resulted in the Pakatan Harapan loss in the Tanjong Piai by-election becoming the order of the day – the politics of race and religion taking to their extremity with both the Malays and non-Malays in fear that their rights, position and future are under unprecedented threat by other communities making the topic of the youth camp,
“Is the idea of a Malaysian an empty dream?”
 a most prescient and relevant one!

The past week has revealed more about the mendacity and immorality of the previous kleptocratic regime, how the 1MDB audit report prepared for the Parliamentary Public Accounts  Committee was tampered  by the former Prime Minister with the deletion of important information about the 1MDB scandal, like the presence of Jho Low at a meeting of the 1MDB Board of Directors and the financial status of 1MDB or the revelation in the trial of the former Deputy Prime Minister for bribery, criminal breach of trust and money-laundering that not one cent of the RM31 million in a foundation to help the poor was used to help the poor.

Is this global kleptocracy the type of governance Malaysians want to revert to or would Malaysia  become ungovernable and the country’s fate  is to be a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state?

I do not believe so.

Three recent events gave me hope for this belief, that the mission to be a Malaysian and wanting Malaysia to be a better nation – for which I had dedicated over 50 years of my life –  is not a lost cause.

The first is the protest by University of Malaya undergraduate, Wong Yan Ker, at the risk of his engineering degree, at the university convocation to make the important point that Malaysia is a land for all Malaysians.

The second is the great selfless deed by National Audit Department officer Nor Salwani Muhammad who in 2016 helped to preserve evidence of tampering of the Auditor-General’s report in the 1MDB scandal.

The third is the function I attended last night – the 20h anniversary dinner of Malaysiakini celebrating the grit and gumption of a growing band of  Malaysian journalists who spoke truth to power for two decades.

Is there hope for Malaysian nation-building, to go beyond the toxic politics of race and religion, and the cause to make Malaysia a top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity?

My answer is in the positive.

Let us go back to Pakatan Harapan’s 14th General Election Manifesto – Buku Harapan which contained Pakatan Harapan’s promises to the people of Malaysia on the policies and actions that will be implement to REBUILD THE NATION and to FULFILL THE HOPES of the people.

As the Buku Harapan said its opening remarks:

“Since Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj proclaimed ‘Merdeka’ on 31 August 1957, our nation has been very lucky to have a multi-racial and multi-religious population who co-existed and live in peace and prosperity.

“It is with that realisation that the late Tunku read out the Proclamation of Independence that said this nation ‘shall be forever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations.’;

“Guided by the desire to ensure liberty, justice, harmony, and peace, our country has been administered by a succession of leaders who had always put the country first.

“Since the time when we were fighting for our independence led by the religious scholars, the nationalists, and then continued by the administrations of AlMarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussein Onn, and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the vision of this country has always been to become a developed, independent and respected nation.

“Now, at a time when our country is facing with a corruption, malfeasance and kleptocratic crisis like never before, Pakatan Harapan is stepping forward to offer ourselves to save this country and return it to the correct path.

“Pakatan Harapan is determined to bring back the glory that we once enjoyed. Pakatan Harapan is determined to reclaim the pride of all Malaysians that has been sold and bartered away by UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

“Pakatan Harapan is determined to bring Malaysia to a new vision and then drive it back to a stage where we are once again the envy of the world.

“Pakatan Harapan is determined to stop UMNO and Barisan Nasional’s failure to guarantee the welfare of the common people, especially those who live in rural areas, the Indians and the indigenous people, as well as the lower middle class who are often forgotten.

“Our promises are for the 99 percent, and not just for the 1 percent cronies of UMNO and Barisan Nasional. We promise hope for all citizens, regardless of race and religion. We will stop the rot in key national institutions and we will return the rule of law by ensuring the independence and integrity of important government agencies.

‘We will cleanse Malaysia from corruption, malfeasance and kleptocracy, and at the same time drive a sustainable economic growth so that the benefits can be shared by all, not just by a few people in power.

“We offer leaders who are clean and committed to cleaning up this country from the rot, and leaders who are committed to helping people of all backgrounds.

“Our vision is a nation where the citizens are united in championing the fate of the Pribumi and all Malaysian citizens, so that the development and growth can be enjoyed by all in a fair and equitable manner, not monopolised by those who are only interested in enriching themselves.

“It is time for Pakatan Harapan and for all of us to reclaim this nation’s honour, rebuild this nation, and fulfil our potentials.”

It is time for Pakatan Harapan and all the four component parties to reaffirm the hopes and promises of Buku Harapan.

Pakatan Harapan received a thrashing in the Tanjong Piai by-election because the voters were disappointed by the record of  Pakatan Harapan government in the last 18 months  to implement the  agenda for a New Malaysia in the 14th General Election Manifesto, and what is worse, the belief that the Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya had gone back to the bad old ways of the previous Barisan Nasional government.

They were wrong, but Pakatan Harapan failed  to communicate and to convince them that their disappointment and disillusionment while understandable were completely misplaced and that Pakatan Harapan remains as committed as ever in resetting the nation-building process to build a New Malaysia and is making progress in this direction.

The Economist, at the end of last year, named Malaysia together with Ethiopia and Armenia in the three-nation finals list in its “ovation country of the year 2018” – for Malaysian voters who “fired a Prime Minister who could not adequately explain why there was US$700 million in his bank account”.

In July this year, the  Economist expressed its disappointment with the pace of reform and said:
“If PH does not get the economy going, it may wind up in opposition for a few years; if it does not refurbish Malaysia’s democracy, it may be out of office for a generation.”

Malaysia is at the crossroads – to move forward to be a top world-class nation with an inclusive nation-building policy leveraging on the best qualities of the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures or to be relegated to the trajectory towards a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state obsessed by divisive and intolerant race and religious politics.

Malaysia made a good start in the last 18 months to build a New Malaysia where Malaysia can become a top world-class nation.

The PH had made several good and important appointments to pave the way for far-reaching institutional, political and democratic reforms for a New Malaysia, including:

· Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat as Chief Justice, taking over from Richard Malanjum who had retired on April 2,

· Datuk Mohamad Ariff bin Md Yusof as Speaker of Parliament;

· Tommy Thomas as Attorney-General;

· Azhar Azizan Harun or better known as Art Harun as Chairman and Dr. Azmi Sharon as Deputy Chairman of Election Commission;

· Hamid Bador as Inspector-General of Police;

· Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor.

· Zulkifli Zainal Abdin as Chief of Armed Forces;

· Ismail Bakar as Chief Secretary;

· Syed Zaid Albar as Security Commission Chairman;

· Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid as Auditor-General

· Tan Sri Abdul Kassim Ahmad as Director-General of National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption;

· Latheefa Koya as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner succeeding Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull.

The PH has amended the Constitution to lower the voting age from 21 years to 18 years although an amendment of the Constitution to fulfil the PH Manifesto pledge to restore powers to Sabah and Sarawak was defeated for lack of two-thirds parliamentary majority.

The long-awaited IPCMC Bill has been referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee which had conducted country-wide townhall meetings and is awaiting passage in the present parliamentary meeting.

But  more must be done.

572  days after the historic change of government of May 9, 2018, it is time for a major review of Pakatan Harapan promise of a New Malaysia and 14th General Election Pakatan Harapan Manifesto.

The Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council had set up a review committee for the 14GE PH Manifesto. There is greater urgency and imperative for this committee to speed up and complete its task.

Let PH be frank with the people and admit where we have promised the impossible for I believe Malaysians will appreciate our frankness with their support and confidence largely intact.

We must convince our core supporters that the trajectory towards a New Malaysia is on track, and that the five pillar- promises towards the building of a New Malaysia, as contained in the 14GE Pakatan Harapan election manifesto remain our lodestar and guiding principle.

The five pillar-promises of a New Malaysia are:

· Reduce the people’s burden;

· Institutional and political reforms;

· Spur sustainable and equitable economic growth;

· Return Sabah and Sarawak to the status accorded in Malaysia Agreement 1963; and

· Create a Malaysia that is inclusive, moderate and respected globally.

There is also a need to review the modus operandi of Pakatan Harapan and the four component parties.

The Pakatan Harapan parties and leaders must develop a Pakatan Harapan mindset and approach to the nation’s problems.

Pakatan Harapan achieved the impossible in carrying out a peaceful and democratic  transition of power on May 9 last year – the first time in six decades – because Pakatan Harapan avoided the extremes of hate and intolerance of the politics of race and religion and catered to the appeals of moderation, tolerance, harmony and Malaysian unity in the centre.

We were confident that those who preached hatred and intolerance belong to a minor fraction of the population while the middle ground of the rational, sane and moderate represent the overwhelming majority of Malaysians regardless of race and religion.

In the past 18 months, we deviated from the moderate centre, seeking to compete and better those who resort to hatred and intolerance in the politics of race and religion.

As a result, Pakatan Harapan has fallen between two stools – we lost the Malay and non-Malay ground for contradictory and opposite reasons.

Pakatan Harapan must return to the moderate centre and not compete with the advocates of hate and intolerance who are in the margins of society in the politics of race and religion.

The modus operandi of the component parties in the Pakatan Harapan must also be reviewed.

DAP, for instance, has been accused of not speaking up for the people when it was formerly a leading voice of society.

There is no change in the commitment of DAP  and its leaders in the past 18 months  to their principles and objectives, as in the first 52 years of DAP’s existence.

The difference is that the DAP was in the national opposition in the first 52 years while it became a part of the Pakatan Harapan national coalition in the past 18 months.

Although DAP and its leaders did not agree with various Federal Government policies and actions, they tried to channel their disagreements through the government sources but this was regarded as timidity or  abandonment of principles and objectives.

A new balance will have to struck between maintaining solidarity and discipline of Pakatan Harapan and articulation of principles and objectives by individual component parties  which are not yet common Pakatan Harapan policies.

I do not agree for instance with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s expression that the Pakatan Harapan’s Manifesto is not a “bible”, or with the  “flying car” proposal as a government project or the detention of 12 Malaysians for alleged links with the non-existent Tamil Tigers Liberation Front.

We have to find ways whereby leaders and activists in the component parties in Pakatan Harapan can voice their dissent from existing government policies and measures without being seen  as Opposition-minded or motivated by an ulterior objective to bring down the Pakatan Harapan government.

We want Pakatan Harapan to succeed to bring to fruition the agenda for a New Malaysia and the fulfilment of the Malaysian Dream where every Malaysian, regardless of race or colour, finds common Malaysian ground with other citizens, although we retain our separate identities in ethnicity or religion.

The alternative is too dire to consider – as it would involve the  death of the Malaysian Dream and a sad and heart-aching end to Malaysian nation-building.

Finally, let me declare that DAP will not become a MCA2 or Pakatan Harapan become BN2, for the simple reason that DAP and Pakatan Harapan are committed to the agenda to reset nation building policies to build a New Malaysia – objectives which the MCA, UMNO, Barisan Nasional and Muafakat Nasional are opposed.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the Perak DAP State Convention in Ipoh on Sunday, 24th November 2019 at 10 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 24 November 2019, 11:30 am and is filed under
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Fake news and hate speech an urgent challenge as they can not only destroy  Pakatan Harapan Government but Malaysia’s hopes to become a top world-class nation

The topic tonight
 “Democracy in a Polarised Age”
is most relevant.

For over a decade, democracy in the world is in retreat, despite isolated reverses as witnessed in Malaysia last year and recently in the presidential elections in Indonesia.

In Malaysia, the hopes of Malaysians for the first peaceful and democratic transition of power in six decades to reset nation-building policies to build a New Malaysia have turned sour and there is an urgent need for the realisation of the promises and pledges of the Pakatan Harapan Manifesto in the 14th General Election.

We are in a very polarised age, not only in Malaysia but worldwide and the problem has taken a new shape in the era of the Internet, celebrating its 30th anniversary.

A few days ago, the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Beners-Lee announced a global plan to save the web.

As he said:
“I had hoped that 30 years from its creation, we would be using the web foremost for the purpose of serving humanity.

“However, the reality is much more complex. Communities are being ripped apart as prejudice, hate and disinformation are peddled online.

“We’re at a tipping point. How we respond to this abuse will determine whether the web lives up to its potential as a global force for good or leads us into a digital dystopia.”

In the recent Indonesian presidential election, fake news and hate speech became a serious challenge, and they even sparked riots in the  post-Presidential election period  causing deaths and hundreds of people injured.

Both in the 2014 and 2019 Indonesian Presidential elections, the presidential candidate Jokowi (Joko Widodo) was accused by fake news and hate speech as a Chinese and a communist.

Hoax stories against Jokowi  include the claim that the Islamic call to prayer will be prohibited and that his vice president will be replaced by Ahok, (Basuki Tjahaja Purnama), the former Jakarta governor who was convicted and imprisoned for blasphemy.

These sound familiar to us in Malaysia, not only in the run-up to the 14th General Election last year, but in the current Malaysian situation, where fake news and hate speech have created a feverish atmosphere where both  the Malay and the non-Malay communities, for completely contradictory reasons, are made to feel that their rights, position and future are facing an unprecedented threat – which is a clear impossibility as who is threatening who?

I myself had been falsely accused by fake news and hate speech, even now, of being a communist, anti-Malay and anti-Muslim. I cannot be accused of being a Chinese, but hoax stories before and after the 14th General Election continue to be circulated that I am not a local-born Malaysian, but had come from China when I as 16 years old.

Fake news and hate speech are  particularly incendiary and combustible in Malaysia because of the country’s diversity of races, languages, religions and cultures – making them doubly toxic, explosive and destructive.

Malaysia must address this threat posed to our democracy by polarisation aggravated by the digital age, and this can only be achieved by Malaysians developing a high level of media literacy, with the critical thinking to detect lies, half-truths and falsehoods.

This must be the top priority of the Pakatan Harapan government as fake news and hate speech can not only destroy the Pakatan Harapan government, but the hopes of Malaysians for the country to be a top world-class nation.

It is pertinent to  note that with the toxic nature of lies, fake news and hate speech in the Internet age, and their mutation into more toxic forms on the ubiquitous social media, the Doomsday Clock 2019 is positioned at two minutes to midnight – closest it’s been to midnight since 1953 during the Cold War – because fake news has been recognised as a third factor after nuclear risk and climate change which posed an existential threat to humanity.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the REFSA Conversation on “Democracy in a Polarised Age” held in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 26th November 2019 at 8.30pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 November 2019, 1:43 pm and is filed under
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Malaysians  must not allow  extremists to turn Malaysia into a deeply polarised nation through  unchecked dissemination of irresponsible and incendiary fake news and hate speech

Malaysians must not allow extremists to turn Malaysia into a deeply polarised nation through  unchecked dissemination of irresponsible and incendiary fake news and hate speech, creating deep divisions in the country and  corroding basic political institutions, fuelling societal anger, ultimately endangering democracy and the nation itself.

Recently, there have been many examples of such irresponsible and inflammable fake news and hate speech in multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious Malaysia.

The most recent instance was the speech by a Penang State  UMNO leader and

Barisan Nasional Penang State Secretary, Datuk Omar Faudzar at  the UMNO General Assembly accusing the DAP of importing “phantom voters” from China to obtain more numbers through Chinese nationals.

He told the UMNO General Assembly that if 5,000 of the Chinese nationals are placed in each of the Parliamentary constituencies, “all of our MPs will be wiped out”.

He said:
 “Politics is a game of numbers. This is their strategy — to obtain numbers through these Chinese phantom voters.”

He alleged that  that during his monthly Umno state meetings, he  found that the number of Chinese voters had increased in comparison to Malay voters and voiced his confusion, claiming that most Chinese families only have two children in comparison to many Malay families who tend to have more children.

He  wondered how did the Chinese voters outnumber the Malay voters in Penang by a factor of three to one.

He said:
 “Every month our report shows that for every 1,000 Malay voters, there are around 3,000 Chinese voters. We were wondering how did the Chinese outnumber us. If a Chinese (couple) start a family, they have only two children. Malays are more active (in producing kids), especially on Friday nights.

“Where can we find more (Malay) voters?”

It should be easy to verify the whether Omar was telling the truth or disseminating irresponsible and incendiary fake news and hate speech which only further polarise Malaysia to the detriment to Malaysia’s democracy and even existence.

In the last two general elections, the percentage of  Malay voters in Penang state have increased  from 35% or  297,956 voters in 2013 to 37%  or 349,737 in 2018 in contrast to the decrease in the percentage of  Chinese voters in the state from 53% or 453,317 voters in 2013 to 52% or 488,505 voters in 2018.

Omar also made the allegation of a Chinese national who
 “obtained a Mykad and registered as a voter in Selangor”
but in a check that morning
 “his record is not in the Election Commission’s data”.

Again, it should not be difficult to verify whether such serious allegation has any factual basis or not.

If the  disseminators of irresponsible and incendiary fake news and hate  speech to deepen polarisation in Malaysia  by fomenting hate, distrust and intolerance are  given  immunity and impunity for their dastardly actions, it is not only democracy but the very survival of the Malaysian nation that  will be in peril.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Wednesday, December 11, 2019)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 December 2019, 4:58 pm and is filed under
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Three existential threats to mankind – nuclear weapons, climate change and Internet information warfare

Sixteen-year-old Swede, Greta Thunberg has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019.

The teenage climate activist was the odds-on favourite to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but it  was awarded to  Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, for his efforts to “achieve peace and international cooperation.”

Greta  inspired millions of young people to take action against climate change, launching a grassroots campaign when she was 15, skipping school every Friday to demonstrate outside the Swedish Parliament, pushing for her government to meet its ambitious goals to curb carbon emissions.

Her actions quickly captured people’s imagination, and in September this year millions of people took to the streets in cities across the world to support her cause.

This is a significant  event and reason why  Malaysians must pay greater  attention to the issue of climate change, which has been described for over a decade as one of the two  existential threats to humanity, with the planet earth depicted  as “on a runaway train to ecological and climate collapse”.

But a third existential threat to humanity joined  the twin causes of potential  global catastrophes, i.e.  nuclear warfare and climate change,  this year.

Since 1947, an organization known as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists developed a theoretical model to describe just how close humanity is to the brink.

The end result was a clock, dubbed The Doomsday Clock,  whose countdown to midnight signified the approaching end of humanity.

Over the years, scientists have adjusted the clock according to their assessment of the risk of destruction. In 1953, the clock was moved to 11:58 as Americans and Soviets developed the hydrogen bomb, a weapon with destructive capabilities orders of magnitude greater than the Hiroshima bomb.  Given the effects of nuclear winter alone, such a war would have almost certainly wiped out all of humanity, the catastrophic event known as omnicide.

After that, the world somewhat relaxed.

In 2007, a new variable for measuring omnicidal dangers was added: climate change – the effects of a steadily warming planet pose an enormous threat to organized human existence.

Global warming increases the frequency and severity of natural catastrophes such as wildfires, floods, freak storms and droughts. Increased carbon in the atmosphere is causing decreased nutritional levels in crops. Coastal areas around the world will sink under water, and entire countries will be uninhabitable due to excessive heat. The effects of this would be enough to tear apart the world order.

Since then, the clock has been inching closer to destruction. In 2018, the Doomsday Clock moved  to 2 minutes to midnight, as close as it has ever been in the clock’s history.

In 2019, the Bulletin announced that it was still 2 minutes to midnight as  information warfare techniques posed another threat to civilization. In a world of fake news and alternative facts, the information ecosystem is threatened with utter chaos.

The Bulletin writes that “by manipulating the natural cognitive predispositions of human beings, information warriors can exacerbate prejudices, biases, and ideological differences.”

The modern information society makes such manipulation exponentially more dangerous. Society will not be able to deal with the problems we face if citizens cannot trust the information they encounter.

The Bulletin says, “This new abnormal is simply too volatile and dangerous to accept as a continuing state of world affairs.”

In the age of polarisation, fake news and hate speech of the social media, Malaysians must develop the  media literacy to have the critical thinking skills to differentiate fact from fake, truth from lies so as  to be active citizens.

Can Malaysians  learn from the lessons of dishonest,  unethical, irresponsible and incendiary   information warfare on the social media of  other democracies and countries, not only on fake news and hate speech but also for instance, the emergence of a  fake fact-check website in the current United Kingdom general election?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Thursday, December 12, 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 December 2019, 4:12 pm and is filed under
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Buku Harapan must be the compass  to reset nation-building policies to return to the founding principles of Malaysian Constitution to ensure unity,  justice, freedom, excellence and integrity in Malaysia

We want the Pakatan Harapan government to succeed to reset nation-building policies for  Malaysia to return to the founding principles of  the Malaysian Constitution to ensure unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity in Malaysia, where there is  separation of powers, the rule of law, public integrity and respect for human rights..

For six decades, we have strayed from the fundamental principles of the Malaysian Constitution.   The re-setting  of nation-building principles to restore the original Constitution principles is an arduous process and will probably take a generation, but substantial efforts must be made in the five years before the next general election in 2023.

Buku Harapan must be  the compass  to reset nation-building policies to return to the founding principles of Malaysian Constitution to ensure unity,  justice, freedom, excellence and integrity in Malaysia.

I have been quoted as saying that Pakatan Harapan had made “impossible: promises” in the run-up to the 14th General Election. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What I said at the Perak State Convention last month was that we must be frank with the people, and that if we had made “impossible” promises, we must have the confidence in the people’s trust to  admit them.

Nineteen months have passed since the historic “May 9” decision of last year, bringing about a peaceful and democratic transition of power the first time in six decades.

The high hopes that there could be radical change overnight had been replaced by disappointment and even disillusionment with the slow pace of change, and there is  even perception that the Pakatan Harapan Government has relapsed to the sins and crimes  of unaccountability,  abuses of power and corruption of the previous administration.

Pakatan Harapan parties must guard against any such relapses, and firm remedial action are needed to ensure that the sins and crimes of the past, viz  unaccountability, abuses of power and corruption, do not occur in the Pakatan Harapan administration.

I look forward to the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2019 which should be released next month, for this will be one international measure whether we are making progress in the fight against corruption.  I expect that this will be a TI CPI Report which Malaysians can feel proud.

It is vital and important that Pakatan Harapan parties must  be able to convince our members and core supporters that the trajectory towards a New Malaysia is on track, and that the five pillar- promises towards the building of a New Malaysia, as contained in the 14GE Pakatan Harapan election manifesto remain our lodestar and guiding principle.

The five pillar-promises of a New Malaysia are:

· Reduce the people’s burden;

· Institutional and political reforms;

· Spur sustainable and equitable economic growth;

· Return Sabah and Sarawak to the status accorded in Malaysia Agreement 1963; and

· Create a Malaysia that is inclusive, moderate and respected globally.

Three recent events are salutary reminders that we are on track in  this trajectory towards a New Malaysia,  firstly, the constitutional amendment bill on the two-term limit of the Prime Minister; and the two decisions by the Attorney-General, Tommy Thomas today not to appeal against the court decision on the acquittal of PKR vice president Rafizi Ramli in the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) case and the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision that Section 13 of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) denying bail to SOSMA detainees as “unconstitutional”.

The two decisions by the Attorney General Tommy Thomas on Rafizi and SOSMA are most welcome and appropriate.

We must be mindful of increasing public impatience at the pace of change to keep in line with the promises in Buku Harapan.

Only today, the Malaysian Bar president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor reminded the Pakatan Harapan government to remain faithful to its 14th general election manifesto promises on human rights and to implement them without delay.

In his anniversary speech on the first year of Pakatan Harapan government in May this year, the Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad expressed  confidence that the  Pakatan Harapan government will be able to implement its Buku Harapan promises in the remaining term of the government.

In the new year of 2020, let the  Pakatan Harapan Government step up on its implementation of the promises Pakatan Harapan  had made in Buku Harapan.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the DAP Kinrara Anniversary Dinner in Kinrara, Selangor on Friday, 13th December 2019 at 8.30  pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 December 2019, 9:48 am and is filed under
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Azilah’s shocking sworn statement from the death row justifies inquiry of the whole process of investigation, prosecution and trial for  the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu 13 years ago

The shocking sworn statement of the death row inmate and former commando Azilah Hadri justifies inquiry  of the whole process of investigation, prosecution and trial for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu in October 2006.

In all my statements about the murder of Altantuya in the past 13 years, I have never accused Najib of the murder of Altantuya.

In my last statement on the issue on October 31 last year, I had said that
 “the ghost of Altantuya will continue to haunt Najib and Malaysia until there is a full and satisfactory investigation as to the motive for the heinous murder of the Mongolian and the real murderers brought to justice”.

I had said:
 “When the heinous murder and the mysterious disappearance of Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Kashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul hit the world headlines early this month, the first person I thought of was Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered and whose remains destroyed with C4 explosives in Shah Alam on Oct. 16 twelve years ago.

“The ghost of Altantuya Shaariibuu will continue to haunt former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Malaysia until there is a full and satisfactory investigation as to the motive for the heinous murder of the Mongolian murder and the real murders brought to justice.

“Home Minister Tan Sri Muhytiddin Yassin told Parliament yesterday that the police will take appropriate action against Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor if the couple is implicated in the murder of Altantuya.

“He was responding to Monday’s speech by the DAP MP for Bukit Gelugor Ramkarpal Singh in the debate on the Mid-Term Review of the 11th Malaysia Plan on the revelations made by businessperson Deepak Jaikishan on the Altantuya murder in a recent recording which was uploaded online.

“Although Deepak’s video recording had since been deleted from the Internet, it should pose no difficulty for the police to locate the video which is making the rounds on the social media in the last few days, and most important of all, the police can get confirmation from Deepak himself on the authenticity of the video.

“As Ramkarpal told Parliament on Monday, Deepak had clearly stated that Najib and Rosmah were involved in the murder of Altantuya.

“In fact, at stake is not just the reputation of Najib and Rosmah, but Malaysia’s international repute and standing as a developed and civilized society where the rule of law and justice prevail in the country, where people do not disappear for no rhyme or reason or got murdered for no motives.”

In my statement of 14th October, 2018, I had given five reasons for the re-opening of investigations into Altantuya’s murder:

· the statutory declaration of private investigator P. Balasubramanian, dated 1st July 2008 which in effect challenged the truth and veracity of various statements and denials by Najib in connection with the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu in October 2006;

· the police confession on Nov. 9, 2006 by former police special commando Suril Azhar Umar who had been convicted of the murder of Altantuya, that he only a tool in the murder of Altantuya; and

· the teary statement by Sirul in Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb. 3, 2009 asking the court not to sentence him to death for Altantuya’s murder, saying he was like “a black sheep that has to be sacrificed” to protect unnamed people who have never been brought to court or faced questioning.

· whether Najib had sent Razak Baginda phone message to be “COOL” and the nature of telephonic messages connected to the Altantuya murder;

· whether the Altantunya murder had anything to do with the Scorpene submarine deal and scandal.

With the two additional reasons, viz Deepak’s video and Azila’s sworn statement from the death row, does Najib support the re-opening of  investigation into the Altantuya murder to establish its motive, something which the Najib premiership failed to do?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Tuesday, 17th December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 December 2019, 4:38 pm and is filed under
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If Najib wants Altantuya’s murder to be re-investigated, a meeting of the lawyers of the interested parties representing Najib, Altantuya’s family,  detective  Bala’s family, businessman Deepak, Attorney-General and others can be convened to consider how best this reinvestigation could be done

Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s counsel, Mohamad Shafee Abdullah has said that his client wants the police to reinvestigate the murder case of Altantuya Shariibuu.

I have asked Najib after the  shocking sworn statement of the death row inmate and former commando Azilah Hadri whether he supports the re-opening of investigation into the Altantuya murder to establish its motive, something which the Najib premiership failed to do?

Najib has said many things after the shock statutory declaration but he has scrupulously steered clear of the subject whether he agrees with the  reinvestigation of Altantuya’s murder.

If Najib wants Altantuya’s murder to be re-investigated, a meeting of the lawyers of the interested parties representing Najib, Altantuya’s family, detective P. Bala’s family, businessman J. Deepak, Attorney-General  and others can be convened to consider how best this reinvestigation could be done.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Wednesday, 18th December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 December 2019, 1:28 pm and is filed under
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Does Najib’s sumpah laknat means that he disagrees with his counsel, Shafee Abdullah,  and  that Najib does not want the police to reinvestigate the murder case of Altantuya Shaariibuu?

Does former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s sumpah laknat means that he disagrees with the statement by his counsel, Mohamad Shafee Abdullah, that he (Najib) wants the police to reinvestigate the murder case of Altantunya Shaariibuu and that he (Najib) positively does not want the police to reinvestigate the murder case?

Would Najib make  a sumpah laknat to deny the latest allegation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he was a recipient of kickbacks from bonds raised by former Goldman Sachs executive Tim Leissner for 1MDB in the monstrous kleptocratic 1MDB scandal?

Najib’s sumpah laknat also raises the question as to how many detainees in the death row during the nine  years he was Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018 he would personally have recommended should be commuted to pardon and release  if they had taken a sumpah laknat of not being  guilty of the crimes they were given the  death penalty?

I had suggested yesterday that a meeting of the lawyers of the interested parties representing Najib, Altantuya’s family, detective P. Bala’s family, businessman J. Deepak, Attorney-General and others  be convened to consider how best the reinvestigation into Altantuya’s murder could be done.

But this suggestion is only viable if there is  no objection by anyone of   the interested parties to the Altantuya murder case. I note the objection of the counsel of  one of the interested parties, while Najib has yet to declare  his position.

Be that as it may, the principles of the true rule of law and an really independent judiciary have made it imperative that the whole process of investigation, prosecution and trial for Altantuya’s murder in October 2006 should be reinvestigated  as a result of Azila’s shocking sworn statement.

The Malaysian Bar has joined the call for fresh investigations on Azila’s statutory declaration.

May be all lawyer and justice-loving Malaysians should speak up to call for a re-investigation into the whole process of investigation, prosecution and trial of Altantuya’s murder.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Thursday, 19th December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 December 2019, 10:28 am and is filed under
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If Azila makes a sumpah laknat that his SD is true, whose sumpah laknat – Najib or Azila – will prevail?

Firstly, let me state that in my statement this morning,  I have not challenged former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to take a sumpah laknat to deny the latest allegation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he was a recipient of kickbacks from bonds raised by former Goldman Sachs executive Tim Leissner for 1MDB in the monstrous kleptocratic 1MDB scandal.

As a non-Muslim, I will not issue such a challenge.

In my statement this morning, I had wondered whether this is what  Najib would do if he had decided on taking the  sumpah laknat route.

Many questions had cropped up following Najib’s announcement that he will take “sumpah laknat” to deny former Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri’s claim that he had ordered Azilah to kill Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Whose sumpah laknat will prevail if Azila is to  take a sumpah laknat in Kajang Prison to reaffirm that his  statutory declaration (SD)  is correct and true?

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Hanipa Maidin has recommended that Najib file a defamation suit to counter Azila’s allegation that he (Najib)  ordered the death of Mongolian citizen instead of taking a religious oath to that effect, as Azila will be subjected to cross-examination by Najib’s lawyer.

Hanipa said Najib’s plan to take a “sumpah laknat” tomorrow had little legal value.

Similarly, the controversy whether Azila had been brought out of Kajang Prison to meet with a VVIP in February this year cannot be resolved by the sumpah laknat route, but only by a full and transparent  investigation into the allegation which was made by Najib’s counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and which had been denied by Kajang Prison.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Thursday, 19th December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 December 2019, 2:20 pm and is filed under
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Najib has confirmed that the “laknat sumpah” route will only create a multiplicity of issues without making any contribution to the establishment of the truth as to the motive for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu

In scrupulously steering away from the question as to whose sumpah laknat will prevail if convicted murderer Azilah Hadri is to take a sumpah laknat in Kajang Prison to reaffirm that his statutory declaration (SD) is correct and true while the former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak takes the sumpah laknat to deny Azilah’s allegations, Najib has confirmed that the “laknat sumpah” route will only create a multiplicity of issues without making any contribution to the establishment of the truth as to the motive for the murder of the Mongolian Altantunya

Shaariibuu.

With regard to the several irregularities reinforcing suspicion that there was a cover-up, such as the motive for the murder; why Najib’s former aide-de-camp was not called as a witness; why the prosecution did not appeal the acquittal of Najib’s close associate, Abdul Razak Baginda who was charged with abetting the murder; and the several most damning statutory declarations or video admissions by detective P. Bala, businessman J. Deepak and now from Azila from the death row, a full and transparent re-inquiry of the whole process of the investigation, prosecution and trial of the Altantuya murder is the only viable option.

Najib’s counsel, Mohammad Shafee Abdullah has said that Najib wants the police to reinvestigate the Altantuya murder case.

Can Najib confirm this and let the reinvestigation of the Altantuya murder to begin without any other drama.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Friday, 20th December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 20 December 2019, 12:53 pm and is filed under
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Advice to lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla to read the Buku Harapan before he opens his mouth about what Pakatan Harapan had promised in the 14th General Election

I would advise lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulah to read Buku Harapan before he opens his mouth about what Pakatan Harapan had promised in the 14th General Election.

Promise 27 (page 61) on “Abolish oppressive laws” of Buku Harapan pledges that “The Pakatan Harapan Government will also abolish draconian provisions” in Security Offences (special measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA).

Haniff cannot be more wrong when he alleged that some DAP leaders, by the virtue of being part of the ruling government, was meddling in police affairs.

DAP leaders are adhering to Buku Harapan in pressing for the abolition of the draconian provisions in SOSMA, which includes the denial of bail when a person is charged under SOSMA and during the whole period the case is subject to appeal to the higher courts upon an application by the Public Prosecutor – which could take years.

This in unacceptable as the courts must remand a person acquitted pending appeal upon an application by the Public Prosecutor.

It is a major landmark judicial and constitutional development that Section 13 of SOSMA which denied bail to SOSMA detainees were declared unconstitutional by Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge, Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

It would have better if this draconian and unconstitutional provision had been repealed by Parliament before November 29, 2019, the date the matter was decided by Justice Nazlan as ‘unconstitutional”.

As Parliament has set up a Select Committee on Defence and Home Affairs to ensure that there is no police abuse of power as happened in the previous administration, when the doctrine of separation of powers was abused and Parliament could not fully perform its constitutional function, there should be suspension all the SOSMA provisions until the Pakatan Harapan Government has completed its Buku Harapan pledge to repeal the “draconian” provisions in the law.

DAP condemns terrorism of any form and will provide unstinting support to the authorities to combat terrorism from whatever quarter.

It is two-and-a-half months since the detention of DAP State Executive Councillor, G. Saminathan, Negri Sembilan State Assemblyman P. Gunasekaran and eight others for terrorist links with LTTE, but no concrete evidence had been provided by the police so far especially as LTTE had been defunct for nine years.

The era when national security is the sole concern of the Police is over as national security should be the concern of all patriotic Malaysians and Members of Parliament.

While the police has the professional and specific duty to safeguard the national security of the nation, it should not act as in the past when the phrase “national security” could be abused not to protect national security, but for other motives and purposes.

In 2015, former Batu Kawan UMNO deputy chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan and lawyer Matthias Chang were detained under SOSMA in connection with the 1MDB scandal, while in 2016 on the eve of Bersih.5 rally, Bersih chairperson Maria Chin was arrested under SOSMA.

In a new era of great accountability and transparent governance promised by the Pakatan Harapan, the Police must act in a transparent and accountable manner.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 22nd December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 December 2019, 10:22 am and is filed under
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Let Malaysians reaffirm the constitutional principle of Islam as official religion and freedom of worship for other religions and not succumb to the lies,  false new and hate speech on social media that the various races and religions are facing an existential threat

Merry Christmas to all Christians in Malaysia.

The last 12 months have been testing times for Malaysia to achieve our goal to be a top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity where Malaysians can celebrate the diversity of races, languages, religions and cultures in  peace, tolerance, acceptance and co-existence.

Yesterday, I saw on the social media a denunciation of Malaysia of having become a communist state.  There was also in the social media a denunciation of myself of having becoming a “hanjian” ( 漢奸 – a pejorative term for a race traitor and Han ethnicity).

Both are equally lies.

But uncontrolled spread of lies,  false news and hate speech  through the social media  in the past year have created a false situation as if  every ethnicity and religion in Malaysia  faces an existential threat.

Islam as the official religion of Malaysia is not under threat. Nor are the other religions, whether Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikkhism or

Taoism under threat in enjoying their constitutional right of freedom of worship.

I am inspired  to see Malaysian Muslims disregarding the voices of hate and intolerance warning them that they would be committing a sin if they wish Christians “Merry Christmas”, with many Muslims in Malaysians  openly wishing Christians “Merry Christmas”.

Let us  develop a new self-confidence of “reaching for the stars” to exorcise the various contrived,  imaginary or other baseless  fears and demons for Malaysia to excel itself in various fields of human endeavour.

Let Malaysians reaffirm the constitutional principle of Islam as official religion and freedom of worship for other religions and not succumb to the lies, false new and hate speech on social media that the various races and religions are facing an existential threat.

The Malaysia I want to see is one where the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans come out of their own universes to interact with other communities; to learn, appreciate and accept that Malaysia is not to be identified with any one community but with all the different communities who have made the land their mother country.

This is what the basic Malaysian documents whether the Malaysian Constitution, the Rukunegara or the Vision 2020 of Bangsa Malaysia were predicated.

In other words, a Malaysian is a Chinese who is not 100 per cent Chinese but has an extra dimension which could be described as Malaysia-plus; a Malay who is not 100 per cent Malay but with a Malaysia-plus dimension; and an Indian who is not 100 per cent Indian but with a Malaysia-plus dimension. They keep their separate ethnic identities but they share a common core – as a Malaysian.

All Malaysians must ask: Who is the “Other” in the Malaysian context?

Are the “Other” the Chinese and Indians to a Malay Malaysian, the Malays and Indians to a Chinese Malaysian, and the Malays and Chinese to an Indian Malaysian?

If this is the answer, then we have not yet succeeded in Malaysian nation-building, for the “Other” must be a non-Malaysian, whether from Indonesia, China or India or any other part of the world.

(Christmas Message by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Tuesday, 24th December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 December 2019, 10:43 am and is filed under
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No basis for the fear that the Chinese congress would lead to chaos if it is not anti-Malay or anti-Constitution

There is no basis for the fear that the Chinese Organisations Congress organised by Dong Jiao Zong on Dec. 28 would lead to chaos if it is not anti-Malay or anti-Constitution.

There are differences of opinion as to whether the optional introduction of three pages of Jawi in Std. IV of Chinese and Tamil primary schools would result in the change of character of Chinese and Tamil primary schools as everybody is agreed about the preservation of the character of Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

It is important that the differences of opinion in our society be resolved peacefully and amicably within the existing constitutional and government conditions and context, and efforts should be made to avoid any further inter-racial and inter-religious polarisation in plural Malaysia made easy by the rampage of fake news and hate speech which threaten the fabric of Malaysian society.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Saturday, 21st December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 December 2019, 10:18 am and is filed under
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Incendiary and irresponsible statements like the one issued by Gamis President  Saifullah Baiduri or an ustaz claiming the Pakatan Harapan government is a communist government must not be given  immunity and impunity if Malaysia is not going to be polarised to become ungovernable and destroyed by uncontrolled spread of lies, fake news and hate speech in the social media

Incendiary and irresponsible statements like the one issued by Gamis President Saifullah Baiduri must not be given immunity and impunity if Malaysia is not to be polarised to become ungovernable  and destroyed by uncontrolled spread of lies, fake news and hate speech in the social media.

The authorities concerned must take firm and stern action against Saifullah for his incendiary and irresponsible statement that the bloody riots of May 13, 1969 may return as long as Dong Zong still exists.

Yesterday, there was a video on  the social media of a speech allegedly by an ustaz who alleged that the Pakatan Harapan government has become a communist government and that communists have entered  the Malaysian Cabinet and Government.

If Saifullah and the ustaz are given immunity and impunity to make such baseless, incendiary and irresponsible statements, promoting hate, distrust, bigotry and  intolerance among Malaysians, Malaysia will never  succeed as a united, democratic, progressive,  prosperous and successful  nation but will suffer the fate of a failed, backward, divided  and broken country.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, December 25, 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 December 2019, 10:04 am and is filed under
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While Vision 2020 will not be achieved next year, let more and more Malaysians try to be Bangsa Malaysians  and  resolve the crisis over Jawi issue   in a peaceful and consensual Malaysian way

The police  are looking for a man who recorded and made viral a video clip claiming that there was a communist flag in the 2019 Penang Chingay Festival procession in Jalan Raja Uda in Butterworth, Penang, on Sunday. Some 50 policemen and officers were on duty during the parade, and it was impossible they could not detect a communist flag.

Yesterday, the Gamis President Saifullah Baiduri threatened that the bloody riots of May 13, 1969 may return as long as Dong Zong still exist, and there was later the completely unacceptable explanation  that Gamis had used the provocative headline against Dong Zong to attract public attention to its statement.

There was also  the  speech by a religious preacher at a Muafakat Nasional ceramah alleging that the Pakatan Harapan government has become a communist government and that communists have entered the Malaysian Cabinet and Government which had gone viral, while earlier that there had been Whatapps messages spreading the lies  that I was a communist and even related to former Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng.

These are some examples of the mountain of lies, fake news and hate speech which are easily and increasingly viralled on the social media which, if unchecked, will allow bigots and  extremist to turn Malaysia into a deeply polarised nation, ultimately endangering not only democracy but the nation itself.

In a week’s time, the  new year 2020 will begin.  While  Vision 2020 will not be achieved next year, let more and more Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region, try to be Banga Malaysians and resolve the  crisis over the Jawi issue in a peaceful and consensual Malaysian manner.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Thursday, December 26, 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 December 2019, 9:18 pm and is filed under
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Police have now a greater responsibility to show they are even-handed and take action against those who had completely without cause threatened unrest over the closed-door Dong Zong meeting

The Police should not have banned the Dong Zong closed door meeting over the Jawi issue in Chinese and Tamil primary schools although the police were under intense pressure because of irresponsible and incendiary threats by extremist quarters.

Now the police have a great responsibility to show that they are even-handed and take action against those who had completely without cause threatened unrest over the closed-door Dong Zong meeting.

As I have said earlier, while  Vision 2020 will not be achieved next year which would begin in four days’ time, let more and more Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region, try to be Bangsa Malaysians and resolve the crisis over the Jawi issue in a peaceful and consensual Malaysian manner.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Saturday, 28th Dec. 2019)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 28 December 2019, 9:21 am and is filed under
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Renew resolve,  hope and confidence to build a New Malaysia in the new year

I am reminded of Charles Dickens’ famous quote in his book A Tale of Two Cities:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Many Malaysians feel the “winter of despair” but we must persevere to work for the “spring of hope” – to renew resolve, hope and confidence to build a New Malaysia in the new year despite setbacks and vicissitudes.

It is a sign of the failure of the “spring of hope” in Malaysia  that 19 months of Pakatan Harapan government –  the first time that Malaysia gave the world hope that a peaceful and democratic transition of power can bring about reform and change at a time when democracy was in retreat in the world for over a decade, –  seems to have been  dissolved in such an ignominous fashion in very discordant and divisive dispute over the Jawi issue.

Since the historic decision of May 9 last year in the last general election, lies, fake news and hate speech by irresponsible and extremist elements resorting to the politics of race and religion aided by the Internet and the social media  have conspired to create a false  situation where every ethnic group and religion feels that it is facing an existential threat.

As a result, the Vision 2020 of a fully developed Malaysia which is  a “united nation, with a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient” is not within reach on the horizon.

We seem to have lost confidence in ourselves as a plural society, where our diversity should be our asset, fearful and suspicious  of each other and unable to leverage on the best values and qualities of the Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia to build a great Malaysian nation.

The  Malays feel threatened, the Chinese feel threatened, the Indians feel threatened; Islam is under threat and the non-Islamic religions are under threat.

Every community is made to believe that its ethnicity, culture  and religion is facing an existential threat.

But who is creating all these threats to all ethnic and religious groups in the country?

We must not mortgage our future and that of our children and children’s children to the extremists from whatever quarter.

We must promote the moderate Malaysian centre to build “a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient”.

Let us ensure the success of the  Pakatan Harapan government to fulfil the Buku Harapan promises to reset nation-building policies for Malaysia to return to the founding principles of the Malaysian Constitution to ensure unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity in Malaysia, where there is separation of powers, the rule of law, public integrity and respect for human rights and fulfil the  five pillar-promises towards the building of a New Malaysia:

· Reduce the people’s burden;

· Institutional and political reforms;

· Spur sustainable and equitable economic growth;

· Return Sabah and Sarawak to the status accorded in Malaysia Agreement 1963; and

· Create a Malaysia that is inclusive, moderate and respected globally.

Malaysia  will not achieve Vision 2020 in 2020. But it will be  a make-or-break year for the Pakatan Harapan Government in Putrajaya to reset nation-building policies for Malaysia!

(2020 New Year Message by DAP MP f0r Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on 31st December 2019)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 31 December 2019, 9:26 am and is filed under
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Let us learn from  the lessons of the past 19 months

Former top civil servant Tan Sri Alwi Jantan’s following  2020  New Year’s Day poem yesterday “Change” is food for thought for all  Malaysians, regardless of race or religion,  who care and love Malaysia and only  want the best for Malaysia and  our children and children’s children:

CHANGE

We voted for a change

From kleptocracy to Malaysia Baru.

You won’t believe it but it’s strange

What we get are all true.

Black shoes and khat for schools,

Zakir Naik the hate guru.

As if we haven’t been taken for fools,

Flying car and crooked bridge too.

Academics become cheer leaders

In search of lost dignity.

Not fit to become teachers

At any university.

O Lord, my wish for the New Year,

Show us the way to salvation.

Let us together strive and bear

The burden of rebuilding this nation.

I agree with Alwi that a  lecturer  who could set an university examination paper on ethnic relations extolling the  preacher Zakir Naik as an icon in the Muslim world is not promoting but undermining ethnic relations in Malaysia and is ‘Not fit to become teachers at any university”.

In fact, the Universiti Malaysia Perlis’ (UniMAP) examination paper on ethnic relations warrants  a full investigation as to whether the  courses on  ethnic relations in Malaysian educational institutions  in Malaysia is promoting ethnic relations or exacerbating ethnic relations and undermining Malaysian nation-building, as there are  other examples of university questions which are totally insensitive to the diverse races, languages and cultures in Malaysia.

While the Ministry of Education has clarified that it was not responsible for the contents of the UniMAP examination papers, upholding the principle of university autonomy,  it cannot wash its hands of responsibility if ethnic relations courses in universities and institutions exacerbate  and incite inter-racial and inter-religious misunderstanding, distrust and hate instead of promoting tolerance, trust and understanding in plural Malaysia.

Let us learn from the lessons of the past 19 months, which saw  an  upsurge of polarisation along ethnic and religious lines aided by lies, fake news and hate speech on  the  Internet and the social media, undermining respect for democratic  norms and the rule of law; exacerbate intolerance, hate and extremism;  diminish societal trust threatening to drag the country into a downward spiral of division in the trajectory towards  a failed state.

Malaysia must learn from other countries, as rising polarisation is not just happening in Malaysia.

Malaysia must not reach a stage where  severe polarisation can only result in  a failed state.

Although  Vision 2020 of a fully developed Malaysia which is a “united nation, with a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient” could not be achieved in the year 2020, we must be set in the trajectory of Vision 2020 to  avoid the perils of severe polarisation.

Malaysians regardless of race, religion and region, must strengthen the core beliefs of Malaysians based on the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukunegara and in the make-or-break year of 2020 for a New Malaysia, implement the Pakatan Harapan’s 2018 General  Election promise to create a Malaysia that is inclusive, moderate and respected globally,  reduce the people’s burden, implement institutional and political reforms, spur sustainable and equitable economic growth and return Sabah and Sarawak to the status accorded in the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Thursday, January 2, 2020)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 January 2020, 9:24 am and is filed under
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Let Kimanis by-election be another great victory for Warisan-Pakatan  like the Sandakan by-election

I call on the Kimanis voters to give another great by-election victory for the Warisan-Pakatan team like the Sandakan parliamentary by-election in May last year.

Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had a good reception when he visited Membakut in the Kimanis constituency yesterday, but Najib also had a good reception when he visited Sandakan during the Sandakan by-election but the Pakatan-Warisan   candidate, Vivian Wong won the by-election with a greater majority as compared to the general election.

I hope there will be a repeat in the Kimanis by-election, for Sabah will be delivering an important lesson to the rest of Malaysia that a stand must be taken against corruption and abuses of power of the previous administration.

For close to a decade, Malaysia suffered the shame and ignominy of being regarded by the world as a global kleptocracy, and Malaysians must demonstrate to the world that we want to put this shameful chapter in the nation’s history firmly behind us and that there is no room for those who want to forget  the kleptocratic past or even to allow leaders who had been responsible for turning Malaysia into a global kleptocracy to return to power.

Malaysia has made a historic turnaround to build  a clean, honest, accountable and transparent government.

In the courts for trial for corruption, money-laundering and abuses of power are the former Prime Minister and  a galaxy of VVIPs of the former government, but this is only a start if Malaysia is going to be recognised by the world as a leading nation of integrity.

I expect the latest report of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2019 which should be released later this month to have a good report of Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts for the past year, but Malaysia has still a very long way to go to be internationally recognised as a top nation of integrity in the world.

The Kimanis by-election is important for it will an occasion for the voters to express their approval of the anti-corruption efforts so far, although the road ahead for Malaysia to become a nation  of integrity is a long and arduous one.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Beaufort for the Kimanis parliamentary by-election Nomination on Saturday, 4th January 2020)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 4 January 2020, 7:34 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia should offer our  firefighters’  help in the Australian bushfire crisis

Malaysia should offer our firefighters’ help in the Australian bushfire crisis, which will be in the spirit of  good neighbourliness.

Australia is facing an unprecedented bushfire crisis, which is reported to  be entering a dangerous new phase with high temperatures and strong winds set to exacerbate the already devastating fire conditions across the country.

There are fears a number of still-raging blazes could merge to create “monster infernos” in Victoria and New South Wales.

Emergency warnings are in place in Victoria and New South Wales, with scorching temperatures and unpredictable winds arriving, fanning hundreds of fires that continue to burn across large parts of Australia’s east.

Thousands of firefighters have been deployed but there are fears that major blazes burning could spread into untouched regions.

For the first time in Australian history, the Australian Prime Minister has announced the deployment of 3000 defence force reservists to assist with the bushfire crisis.

HMAS Adelaide is also setting sail from Sydney to assist with bushfire evacuations in southern New South Wales and also Victoria.

Since September, the fires in Australia have killed at least 23 people.

Dozens of people are missing and some 1,500 homes have already been lost this fire season.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday, 5th January 2020)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 5 January 2020, 3:19 pm and is filed under
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A victory for the Warisan candidate in Kimanis Karim Bujang will be an endorsement of Sabah and Malaysian  nation-building formula of  inter-racial and inter-religious unity, co-operation, understanding and tolerance and rejection of lies, fake news, hate speech and most irresponsible  extremism

Sabah  and Malaysian nation-building formula of inter-racial and inter-religious unity, co-operation, understanding and tolerance and rejection of lies, fake news, hate speech and most irresponsible extremism.

I have found myself in a most difficult and unenviable position in the past 20 months.

I had been attacked as the greatest threat to Malay rights and interests in the country, who had reduced the  Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to a mere puppet, to further  my ulterior  agenda as a Chinese chauvinist and a communist. And yet to the Chinese, I had been attacked as having sold out the rights and interests of Chinese in Malaysia and have become a puppet and a “running dog” to Mahathir.

We must reject all these lies, fake news, hate speech and most irresponsible  extremism in Sabah and Malaysia  for Mahathir is not my puppet and neither have I become Mahathir’s “running dog”.

But what is most shocking is that these  most irresponsible extremists who spout such contradictory lies, fake news, hate  speech could co-operate politically to want to destroy the Pakatan Harapan-Warisan government in Putrajaya and Sabah.

In the past 20 months, there is a most dangerous and irresponsible polarisation of multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious Malaysia, through lies, fake news and hate speech,  aided by the  ever-present Internet and social media, threatening to tear the country apart instead of the country benefitting from the great diversities in the country.

It is a lie that Mahathir is my puppet. It is also a lie that I have become a “running dog” to Mahahthir.  But what is most shocking of all,  is how the preachers of these shocking and contradictory lies could  co-operate, if they really believe in  their lies, fake news and hate speech?

It is not only Sabah and Malaysia that is facing the dangers of extreme polarisation  through lies, fake news and hate speech aided by the Internet and social media. In the recent Indonesian presidential elections, for instance, Jokowi was attacked as a Chinese and a communist.

We must not  allow these  preachers of lies, fake news, hate speech and irresponsible extremism on the social media to succeed, for Sabah and Malaysia can only become great if we can turn our ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious diversities into our assets instead of  our liabilities.

In the Sandakan parliamentary by-election, the voters of Sandakan rejected these irresponsible politicking. Kimanis will be another opportunity for Sabahans to show to Malaysians that the future of Sabah and Malaysia lies in moderation, tolerance, understanding and harmony in multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious society and not in lies, fake news, hate speech and irresponsible extremism in the era of Internet and social media.

(Media statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Membakut on Sunday, 5th January 2020)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 5 January 2020, 9:09 am and is filed under
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What is the use of an individual winning if the nation loses as a result?

When I visited Salem, India in August last year, I said that Malaysia seemed to be trapped in an extraordinary situation which, if not addressed, will only lead to greater division and disunity, stagnation and failure to leverage on the best values and qualities of the Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia to build a great Malaysian nation.

This extraordinary situation was one where every community was made to believe that its ethnicity, rights, culture and future were  facing an existential threat – where the Malays felt threatened, the Chinese felt threatened, the Indians felt threatened, the Kadazans felt  threatened and the Ibans felt  threatened.

Not only the various races felt threatened, Islam felt  threatened and the non-Islamic religions felt threatened.

But who was  creating all these threats to all ethnic groups in the country?

I said Malaysians must develop a new self-confidence of “reaching for the stars”, a new “Malaysia Boleh” spirit, to exorcise the various contrived, imaginary or other  fears and demons for Malaysia to excel itself in various fields of human endeavour so as to achieve a golden age for Malaysia.

Five months have passed, and the extraordinary situation where every ethnicity, culture and religion felt it was facing an existential threat from others have deepened and plural Malaysia has never been more  polarised, threatening not only the very basis of democracy in Malaysia but the success of the Malaysian nation-building process.

Instead of hope and confidence in a New Malaysia as a result of the May 9, 2018 peaceful and democratic transition of power, there seems to  be doom and gloom and even despair.

Recently, there was the shocking disclosure of the audio recording of a prime minister involved in the high crime of treason  participating  in an obstruction of justice, and although the audio recordings raised many pertinent public interests issues, the shocking aspect that a Prime Minister could be party to a treasonous crime was not given sufficient attention.

It raises the issue as to what is the use of an individual winning if the nation loses as a result.

We must not allow the further polarisation of Malaysia through lies, fake news and hate speech exploiting  the racial and religious cleavages in the  country, which can only end in Malaysia becoming a failed state.

We must ensure that our ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural diversities  are our national assets and not our  national liabilities!

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Saturday, January 11, 2020)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 11 January 2020, 4:24 pm and is filed under
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Many public interest  issues raised by the nine audio tapes released by MACC but  among the biggest is that after a  week, none of the protagonists whether Najib, Rosmah,  Dzulkifly or Azeez  had denied their veracity or claimed they are  doctored or fake

Many public interest issues have been raised by the disclosure of the nine audio tapes released by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission but  among the biggest is that after a week, none of the protagonists, whether former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his wife Datuk Seri  Rosmah Mansor, former MACC Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad or Baling MP Datuk Seri Azeez Abdul Rahim had denied their veracity or claimed that they were doctored or fake tapes.

In fact, Najib had indirectly confirmed the authenticity of the tapes when he claimed that the infamous “Can I advise you something” audio  tape wasn’t “Rosmah scolding me, it was a normal chat” between husband and wife  or his ridiculous  claim that the tapes on his conversation with the United Arab Emirates crown prince Mohammed Zayed Al Nahyan on July 22, 2016 to intervene for his stepson Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz   proved that he had not been lying about the 1MDB scandal.

The resolution of these  many public interest issues raised by the disclosure of the nine audio tapes, including the shocking disclosure of a prime minister involved in the high crime of treason participating in an obstruction of justice, is one of the greatest challenges facing Malaysia  in the new year.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Tuesday, 13th January 2020)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 14 January 2020, 10:36 am and is filed under
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Malaysia must preserve and promote her diversity and colours as a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation as the alternative is a failed state which will not benefit anyone in Malaysia

Tonight’s lighting up of Kangkar Pulai for the Chinese New Year highlights the vitalities  of Malaysia, and we must preserve and promote Malaysia’s diversity and colours as a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation as the alternative is a failed state which will not benefit anyone in Malaysia.

Malaysia has recently become a very polarised nation because the extremists in our society have been allowed to exploit race and religion to poison the Malaysian national life, so much so that what had been accepted as part of Malaysian life has been distorted and painted as a grave threat to different communities and religious faiths.

In fact, we have reached a stage where there are Malaysians who pride themselves as racists, something which is completely unacceptable in the past five decades.

We seem to be retrogressing in nation-building. Why are we going backwards?

There are several reasons, but one important reason is that for the past decade, Malaysians seem to have forgotten the basic national documents which formed the basis of Malaysian nation-building,  be it the Federal Constitution or the Rukunegara.

Let us remember the warning of the Irish poet, W. B. Yeats[LKS1]  that “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” that we must ensure that the majority of Malaysians who occupy the middle ground do not fall victim to the extremists of  both ends of the spectrum to tear the country asunder.

There is an urgent need for all Malaysians to be reminded of Rukunegara, of the national commitment to:

· Achieve a more perfect unity among the whole of her society.

· Preserve a democratic way of life.

· Create a just society where the prosperity of the country can be enjoyed in a fair and equitable manner.

· Guarantee a liberal approach towards her rich and varied cultural traditions; and

· Build a progressive society that will make use of science and modern technology.

To achieve these national objectives, we pledged to uphold the five Rukunegara principles of:

· Belief in God.

· Loyalty to King and Country.

· The Supremacy of the Constitution.

· Rule of Law.

· Courtesy and Morality.

If we had kept loyal and consistent with these five Rukunegara principles, we would not  have suffered the agony,  infamy, ignominy and iniquity of be regarded by the world in the past decade as a global kleptocracy.

If we had been loyal and consistent with these Rukunegara objectives and principles, we would have become a more progressive, successful and united nation than we are today.

Malaysians are  Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans  who have come out of their own universes to interact with other communities; to learn, appreciate and accept that Malaysia is not to be identified with any one community but with all the different communities who have made the land their mother country.

In other words, a Malaysian is a Chinese who is not 100 per cent Chinese but has an extra dimension which could be described as Malaysia-plus; a Malay who is not 100 per cent Malay but with a Malaysia-plus dimension; and an Indian who is not 100 per cent Indian but with a Malaysia-plus dimension.

Nobody will feel proud of being a 100% racist, for it will be going against the Rukunegara and everyone will try to be a Malaysian.

This is what the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukunegara seek to build, and whatever the setbacks and vicissitudes, we must not forget or abandon them, but return to them for sustenance, hope and inspiration to build a united, just, equal and democratic Malaysia.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the Chinese New Year lightings at Kangkar Pulai on Sunday, January 19, 2019 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 21 January 2020, 10:21 am and is filed under
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Let us move away from daily fixation and obsession with the transition of power

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has advised Pakatan Harapan leaders not to  discuss the transition of power issue openly and to honour the consensus on the matter reached in January 2018.

Let us move away from the daily fixation and obsession with the transition of power and focus all our efforts on how to  deliver our promises in the 2018 general election as 2020 is going to be a make-or-break year for Pakatan Harapan.

Undoubtedly, one of the most important  Pakatan Harapan promises is the successful and amicable transition of power from the seventh Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir  Mohamad to the eighth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The details of the transition of power should be left to the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council although there  no need to for  a special meeting on the matter.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Gelang Patah on Wednesday, 22nd January 2020)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 22 January 2020, 4:35 pm and is filed under
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