Will Wee Ka Siong apologise and demonstrate his contrition for being an “enabler of Najib kleptocracy” in the last three days of this year?

Datuk Seri Dr. Wee Ka Siong is the Datuk Seri Dr. Zahid Hamidi of MCA.

At least when Zahid claims to represent the Malays, he can do so without batting an eyelid.

Can Wee honestly and honourably claim to represent the Chinese, even in the

Ayer Hitam parliamentary constituency?

Wee is the sole MCA MP in Parliament. But who sent him to Parliament – the Chinese of Malaysia or UMNO’s Malay vote  bank?

Would Wee have the political honour and integrity to immediately resign as MP for Ayer Hitam so that he could truly, honesty and honourably speak on behalf of the Chinese in Malaysia?

Wee had been  proud to be compared to Zahid, but not after Dec 18. At least Zahid had the political instinct  to step aside as UMNO President and have his portrait taken down at the UMNO Supreme Council meeting room. Have Wee the political guts to do the same?

Nobody have said it  better than former MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua

Soi Lek who had condemned the MCA Ministers for not speaking out on the 1MDB scandal when in government.

He said the MCA leadership had five years and many opportunities to transform MCA, but he had seen no changes.

As Chua said, winning the MCA party election is the easiest part, but the real challenge is on how to transform MCA into an effective Opposition party.so as to regain the support and confidence of the party members.

As I observed early this month, the MCA General Assembly after Wee was elected MCA President must be the most humiliating experience of the MCA in its 69-year history – worse than the 2103 General Election when it became a 7/11 political party, or the 2018 general election, when it degenerated into a mosquito party winning only one parliamentary seat.

I said:
“In the last two days, whatever is left of MCA pride and dignity were dragged over the coals by UMNO leaders, with Zahid reminding MCA to know its place; UMNO Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan urging MCA to leave Barisan Nasional (BN) immediately, remarking that he would be ‘very thankful’ if MCA quits BN as ‘We cannot afford to have a burdensome friend when we are already having a tough time, politically’ while even the UMNO-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia also joined in the fray, lashing out at MCA for overstepping its authority, branding the party a ‘weakling’ and insignificant member of the former ruling coalition.

“But the most mortifying mistake of last Sunday’s MCA General Assembly was not the resolution that BN dissolves, but its craven and cowardly failure to repudiate former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for the monstrous 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal which turned Malaysia into a global kleptocracy.”

I concluded my remarks saying: “
MCA can recover from the attacks of UMNO leaders, however legitimate and justified, but it can never recover from its craven and cowardly failure to repudiate Najib for the monstrous 1MDB scandal which brought to Malaysia to the international infamy, ignominy and iniquity of a global kleptocracy.”

Yesterday, Wee said the 1MDB issue cannot be the DAP’s multi-purpose excuse to be exploited every time Pakatan Harapan runs into controversy.

Wee cannot be so naïve as not  to know that this is not the case as the DAP will not run away from issues.

DAP is not in competition with MCA’s record of spinelessness – to use politics for self-gain, whether titles, position or fortune.

This is why in my response to Tan Sri Clement Hii’s FaceBook posting, I had said in Luoyang, Henan on 27th December that the DAP would never  become a MCA2, as the DAP would have no hesitation in leaving the coalition government if the objective of a New Malaysia is abandoned.

Have MCA in six decades made any  such-like statement?

This statement was not a threat or announcement of our quitting Pakatan  Harapan, but a  statement of our  political principles and commitment.

But petty and small-minded politicians like Wee twisted it into a statement of intent and accused me of making a U-turn when the DAP did not quit Pakatan Harapan.

I do not think the Malaysians can be so easily hook-winked. In fact, the majority of MCA members do not believe in Wee’s obsession with so-called  “U-turns”!

There can, however, be  no doubt that Wee is one of the “
enablers of Najib kleptocracy”.

Having aided and abetted former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the monstrous 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal and the other 1MDB-like scandals in Felda, Felcra, Tabung Haji and MARA, is he prepared to apologise to  all Malaysians in the last  three days of this year so that he does not have to carry the cross of being an
“enabler of Najib kleptocracy”
into the new year of 2019?

Wee has three days to make a clean breast of his  past as an enabler of Najib  kleptocracy, and to  declare and demonstrate  regret and contrition for not standing up to the crime of global kleptocracy and failing to defend the international honour, repute and standing of the nation.

What is Wee’s response?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, December 29, 2018)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 29 December 2018, 8:55 am and is filed under
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As a step closer to closure of the monstrous 1MDB scandal and kleptocratic Malaysia, two days left for all who had aided and abetted Najib in his kleptocratic rule – including former Ministers and MPs – to apologise to all Malaysians for being  “enablers of Najib kleptocracy”

The monstrous 1MDB scandal and other 1MDB-like scandals in Felda, Felcra, Tabung Haji and MARA as part of a kleptocratic Malaysia is not any closer to a closure despite close to eight months of the historic decision in the 14th General Election for a peaceful and democratic transition of power in Putrajaya.

As a step closer to closure of the monstrous 1MDB scandal and kleptocratic Malaysia, there are two days left for all who had aided and abetted former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his kleptocratic rule – including former Ministers and MPs – to apologise to all Malaysians for being  “enablers of Najib kleptocracy”

Those in the frontline who had  aided and abetted  the monstrous crimes of kleptocracy in the Najib premiership, the enablers of Najib kleptocracy, were foremost  the Ministers in the  Najib Cabinet, the Members of Parliament in particular the Speaker of the 13th Parliament who helped Najib to suppress the 1MDB scandal and Najib kleptocracy from being debated in Parliament, the Barisan Nasional  political leaders who had received 1MDB funds from Najib and the media practitioners who had taken part in a great propaganda camouflage to hide the 1MDB scandal and the kleptocratic regime from the Malaysian public.

They have two  days to make a clean breast of their past as enablers of Najib  kleptocracy, and to  declare and demonstrate their regret and contrition for not standing up to the crime of global kleptocracy and failing the nation – or they will carry the cross of being enablers of Najib kleptocracy into the new year.

It is a terrible indictment on what is left of the three Barisan Nasional coalition of UMNO, MCA and MIC as well their former political parties that  in the past seven months – whether in Parliament or outside –  none of them had conceded that the 1MDB scandal was a national catastrophe or  repudiated Najib for the monstrous kleptocracy when he was Prime Minister, and to express their apologies and contrition for their role as “enablers” of Najib kleptocracy.

In this context, the recent appointment of Najib to the UMNO advisory committee is a clear sign of UMNO’s unrepentant role of its infamous kleptocratic past, and why the 1MDB scandal and Najib’s infamous record of kleptocratic rule must continue to be kept in the public limelight until the country develops a culture of “zero tolerance for corruption”.

Everyone of the BN MPs, including MCA’s sole MP Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, had  been tarred with Najib’s kleptocracy, and they have not repented. The same applies to the PAS MPs as well.

In fact, in during the 50-day meetings this year of the 14th Parliament, not a single one of the Barisan Nasional MPs whether UMNO, MCA or MIC – and this includes the PAS MPs – had given a speech on the 1MDB corruption scandal, although  it is the single biggest global scandal  confronting Malaysia.

Can these Opposition MPs explain why?

Furthermore, all political parties and politicians, including MPs of the 13th Parliament, should return to public coffers any funding and donations they had received from the 1MDB scandal.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 30th December 2018)

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Call for the holding of a National Orang Asli Conference in Cameron Highlands to present a blueprint for Orang Asli upliftment in New Malaysia

The Cameron Highlands by-election will be historic for many  reasons, including:

1. It will highlight the Pakatan Harapan’s commitment as expressed in the May 9, 2018 decision of the 14th General Election to save Malaysia by transforming Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity;

2. It will be the first by-election caused by the commitment of Orang Asli to a clean and incorruptible government, electoral integrity and hatred of electoral abuses including corruption and money politics. Corruption, money politics and electoral offences took place all over the country, but such electoral offences had been allowed to take place with impunity and immunity until the Orang Asli from Cameron Highlands took a stand with several of them becoming key witnesses in the election appeal which led to a Cameron Highlands by-election.

3. The victory in the Election Court resulting in the holding of a by-election on January 26 demonstrates that Orang Asli, like the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans also want change in the national political system where every Malaysian citizen can enjoy justice and fair play.

4. The by-election will be an opportunity for the Orang Asli in  Cameron Highlands – which is the parliamentary constituency with the most number of Orang Asli voters, followed by Tapah and Gua Musang  – to set the historic pace for the 200,000 Orang Asli in the country by holding a National Orang Asli Conference to formulate a blueprint for the upliftment of Orang  Asli community in Malaysia.

This National Orang Asli Conference must be decided by the Orang Asli leaders, and the idea should be discussed with JAKOA (Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli) and the Orang Asli NGOs.

I appoint the Deputy Minister for Water, Land and Natural Resources, Tengku Zulpuri, DAP MP for Bentong, Wong Tack and the former Pakatan Harapan parliamentary candidate for Cameron Highlands, M. Manogaran as members of a panel of advisers to explore with JAKOA and Orang Asli NGOs on the possibility of holding such a National Orang Asli Conference.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang when officiating at the opening of the Pakatan Harapan Cameron Highlands by-election ops room at Pos Betau, Cameron Highlands on Sunday, 30th December 2018 at 2 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 December 2018, 10:50 pm and is filed under
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2019 will probably be the most  decisive year which will decide whether New Malaysia is a work-in-progress or a sheer chimera

2018, Malaysians stood tall for the first time in many years and shocked themselves as well as the world by carrying out a peaceful and democratic transition of power in Putrajaya to give hope to Malaysians and the world not to give up on democracy, however noisy and messy it might be, as a system of governance.

2019 will probably be the most decisive year in the nation’s history which will decide whether the New Malaysia the Pakatan Harapan coalition of DAP, Bersatu, PKR and AMANAH want to build is a work-in-progress or a sheer chimera.

May 9, 2018 allows Malaysians a hitherto unimaginable  chance to re-set nation-building policies, but a New Malaysia  cannot be built or completed in 100 days, two years or even a five-year general election cycle but will take a decade or two to accomplish.

A New Malaysia is struggling to be born and all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, politics, gender, sex, inside the country or in the worldwide diaspora, must take ownership of and participate in the process of the making of a New Malaysia.

The journey towards a New Malaysia must strike deep roots in 2019  in terms of structural and institutional reforms in 2019 to  transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity; restore the rule of law; entrench democracy; reform the educational system to make Malaysia a top world-class nation;  unite Malaysians of diverse races, religions and cultures and leverage on the assets of the different races, religions, cultures and civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia to build a new global civilization.

In short, Malaysians must reach for the world and must compete with the rest of the world instead of among themselves.

From an era of ketuanan Melayu, all Malaysiansn  must move to an epoch of ketuanan Malaysian.

Nation building must not be a zero sum game but a win-win formula. We must fight for the rights of the Malays but not at the expense of the non-Malays. We must fight for the rights of the Chinese in Malaysia, but not to the detriment of the non-Chinese. Similarly, we must fight for the rights of the Indians in Malaysia without being a threat to the non-Indians in Malaysia.  Similarly for the Kadazans, Ibans and Orang Asli communities in Malaysia.

Let 2020 be the year Malaysians can begin to celebrate the fruits of a New Malaysians.

(2019 New Year Message by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Cameron Highlands on Monday,  31st December 2018)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 31 December 2018, 7:57 am and is filed under
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Time for the Orang Asli community to “come in from the cold” and take their place in the national mainstream of Malaysian development and stop being the forgotten or downtrodden community

I am glad to be back to Pos Sinderut after my first visit five months ago in July 2018 with the M. Manogaran, the Pakatan Harapan candidate for Cameron Highlands parliamentary constituency.

I have with me the Deputy Minister for Water, Land and Natural Resources, Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puri, MP for Bentong Wong Tack and Pahang State Assemblyman for Tanah Rata Chiong Yoke Kong and State Assemblyman for Tras Chow Yu Hui.

When I first visited Pos Sinderut, Manogaran was in the thick of the  historic election petition to nullify the outcome of the 14th General  Election result for Cameron Highlands because of vote-buying, money politics and threatening of voters in the Barisan Nasional election compaign which resulted in the election of  C Sivaraajh of MIC.

Manogaran lost Cameron Highlands in the 14th General Election by just 597 votes in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

As I mentioned in July, Cameron Highlands is the parliamentary constituency with the largest percentage of Orang Asli voters, constituting over 20 per cent of the electorate – even more than the number of Indian voters, although less than the Malay and Chinese voters.  The next parliamentary constituencies with the largest number of Orang Asli voters are Tapah and Gua Musang.

The Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands have made history, not only for themselves, the Orang Asli community, but for all 32 million Malaysians and struck a major blow against the kleptocratic culture which the Pakatan Harapan coalition of DAP, PKR, Bersatu and AMANAH have pledged to eradicate.

But this is not enough.  In the Cameron Highlands by-election for which Nomination on January 12 and Polling on January 26 had been announced by the Election Commission, the Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands are set to make an even greater history for themselves, the Orang Asli in Malaysia and Malaysia as a whole.

It is time for the Orang Asli, who are the first inhabitants of this country, to “come in from the cold” and take their place in the national mainstream of Malaysian development to demand justice, freedom, integrity and democracy.

For six decades, the UMNO and Barisan Nasional government had failed the Orang Asli communities, for they are left far  behind in the mainstream of national development, remaining forgotten and  downtrodden after  more than six decades of Merdeka.

I received an education on corruption during my dialogue with the Orang Aslis in Pos Sinduret from 14 villages in Sinderut as well as Pos Manson when I visited the area in July, for it was then that I first heard of “roti canai” roads, i.e. substandard roads because of poor workmanship and corruption as the new roads rapidly deteriorate as there was only a thin film of cement on top to hide the shoddy work.

There must be  no more  “roti canai” roads in Cameron Highlands or anywhere else under a New Malaysia which is being built by Pakatan Harapan after the 14th General Election.

After six decades of nation-building, the Orang Aslis should cease to be a neglected and  forgotten community in Malaysia.

What all Orang Asli communities throughout Malaysia are proper roads, water and electricity, schools and easy access to medical care, housing as well as decent jobs and protection of their customary land rights.

The  Orang Aslis are no more the unthinking  “fixed deposits” for UMNO/Barisan Nasional in elections and they should stand up like the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans have done in the 14th General Election, to demand a New Malaysia of Justice, Integrity, Freedom and Democracy for their children and children’s children.

I am proud that at the launch of the Pakatan Harapan Cameron Highlands by-election ops centre in Pos Senderut today, we have with us six of the score of Orang Asli witnesses who bravely testified about electoral offences of bribery and money politics in Kuala Lumpur Court in the successful Cameron Highlands  election court battle.

They are not only  the heroes of Orang Asli communities in Malaysia, they are in fact Malaysian heroes for they play a significant and historic role to repudiate Malaysia’s ill-fame as a global kleptocracy and to establish it as a clean and  incorruptible country where there is electoral integrity and rule of law.

I had suggested when launching the Pakaran Harapan Cameron Highlands by-election ops centre at Pos Betau earlier today the holding of a National Orang Asli Conference in Cameron Highlands next month to discuss and formulate a blueprint for Orang Asli upliftment in the New Malaysia of Pakatan Harapan.

If such a National Orang Asli Conference could be held in Cameron Highlands next month, it would also be a most appropriate occasion to honour the score of Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands who had bravely stood up for the country by being witnesses of truth, justice and democracy to speak up against bribery, money-politics and voter-threatening in the Cameron Highlands election case.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang when officiating at the opening of the Pakatan Harapan Cameron Highlands by-election ops room at Pos Sinderut, Cameron Highlands on Sunday, 30th December 2018 at 5 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 31 December 2018, 7:04 am and is filed under
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Trapped at Kampong Orang Asli Semoi Lama on New Year’s Eve together with MP for Bentong Wong Tack, State Assemblyman for Tanah Rata Chiong Yoke Kong, former PH Candidate for Cameron Highlands M. Manogaram, cutting from all access to the  outside world, is my first experience which illustrates the failures of BN policies on upliftment of Orang Asli in last six decade

I have just come out from my visits to the Orang Asli settlements in Cameron Highlands since Saturday.

My visit, which was planned to end yesterday, could not go as planned as together with Pakatan Harapan MP for Bentong Wong Tack, PH Pahang State Assemblyman for Tanah Rata Chiong Yoke Kong,  and former PH Candidate for Cameron Highlands M. Manogaram, and a convey of 12 vehicles, I was trapped to spend 2019 New Year’s Eve at  Kampong Orang Asli Semoi Lama, cut off from all access to the outside world.

This was my first experience in 77 years at being trapped at a place, cut off from all access to the outside world, which is particularly poignant in an age  of instant communications where information travels at the speed of light.

Having to cross the river at Kampong Semoi Lama by driving through it despite its strong currents to reach Orang Asli kampongs in Pos Lenyang and Pos Titom is also an unforgettable experience.

These  unanticipated experiences are most invaluable one, as they  illustrate vividly the failures of the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government in the upliftment of the Orang Asli people, the first inhabitants in the country, after six decades of federal responsibility.

It is a symbol that after six decades,  the majority of Orang Asli communities are still cut off from the outside world when they should have already been brought into the mainstream of national development.

My being trapped  with Bentong MP, Tanah Rata Assemblyman, the former Pakatan Harapan candidate for Cameron Highlands, and a convoy of 12 vehicles, at Kampong Orang Asli Semoi Lama should bring the shocking plight and position of the  Orang Ali after six decades of nation-building to the forefront of the Cameron Highlands by-election campaign, as it is time to wipe out Orang Asli poverty, backwardness and isolation after six decades of nation-building.

In the Cameron Highlands election in the 14th General Election, some 80% of the Orang Asli voters voted for the MIC/BN candidate and 20% of the Orang Asli votes for Manogaran and Pakatan Harapan.

The time has come for  “Reformasi Orang Asli”, and we should aim to reverse the voting trend whereby in the by-election we can get some 80% of the Orang Asli voters to vote for Pakatan Harapan with only 20% going to Barisan Nasional.

Can this be done?

If this historic result could be produced during the Cameron Highlands by-election, it will mean that at last the Orang Asli  in Malaysia have stood up for their rights as full citizens in Malaysia, with all this means in politics, economics, education, health-care, job opportunities, housing and land.

This is why I have proposed the holding of a National Orang Asli Conference in Cameron Highlands this month to discuss and formulate a blueprint for Orang Asli upliftment in the New Malaysia of Pakatan Harapan.

If such a National Orang Asli Conference could be held in Cameron Highlands, it would also mean that the Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands who had bravely stood up for the country by being witnesses of truth, justice and democracy against bribery, money-politics and voter-threats in the Cameron Highlands election case, will again create history by spearheading a Reformasi Orang Asli in Malaysia.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Felda Sungai Koyan, Cameron Highlands on Monday, 1st January 2019 at 1 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 1 January 2019, 1:52 pm and is filed under
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DAP/Pakatan Harapan  will be the underdog in the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26, and it will be a miracle if DAP/Pakatan Harapan can win but we are in the  era of “miracles” with the historic decision of May 9, 2018

DAP and Pakatan Harapan will be the underdog in the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26, 2019 and it will be a miracle if DAP/Pakatan Harapan can win but we are in the era of “miracles” with the historic decision of May 9, 2018 so we must dare to dream and work for  of another miracle next month.

The very fact that we are gathered here in Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama, Pos Lenjang, which is not planned as all of us should be in different places at this time whether in Bentong, Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya to ring in the 2019 New Year in New Year Eve celebrations is probably Almighty’s unfathomable ways of highlighting the plight of the Orang Asli in Malaysia sixty years after Merdeka.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Orang Asli community, the first inhabitants in the country, have become the most neglected community in the country after six decades of nation-building and it is time that all Malaysians from all communities and religions should unite as one powerful force to uplift and catapult the Orang Asli community into the 21st century and wipe out this shame and blot on Malaysia’s development history.

We are in the age of Internet where information travels at the speed of light – but from here, we are completely cut off from the outside world, as we cannot communicate with anyone outside this kampong.

I hope we can leave tomorrow, which means we will spend a night here, but the Semais live here for generations in this condition – cut off from the outside world, where they cannot get access to the most basic necessities  which they are entitled to as citizens of Malaysia, whether in medical aid, educational and economic opportunities, basic infrastructure facilities of clean water and electricity, and most important of all to them, land rights.

This is indeed a great shame for Malaysia which boasts as  a modern developed country – and we should all support an Uplift Orang Asli blueprint which will catapult the Orang Asli communities from the stone age into the modern information era.

I want to thank in particular Jimmy Wong, Lee Khai Meng and Tam Kar Lye and the Unit Tindak Team for this trip to Pos Menson, Pos Betau, Pos Sinderut, Pos Lenjang and Pos Titom and the opportunity to visit some ten Orang Asli kampongs in the area.

Crossing the Sungai Jelai river at Kampung Simoi Lama by driving through it, despite its strong current, to reach orang asli villages in Pos Lenjang and Pos Titom will always be a highlight of this trip, as Jimmy had half-jokingly said when we were crossing the river that if we lost control and were swept away by the current, we would end up in Lipis.

New Year’s Eve here in Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama is special, not only because it is unplanned by man and we are in a place where time seems to have stood still, as it  provides an occasion to reflect on the larger questions of the meaning of life and about the tectonic changes that have taken place not only in Malaysia but to the human race outside Kampong Simoi Lama.

Although we are a small group here tonight, we have Chinese, Malays, Indians and Orang Asli. We have Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and animists. We are a microcosm for multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia.

Malaysia’s future lies in breaking away from the vicious and toxic politics of racial and religious polarisation, using lies, hate and fear to divide Malaysians, which is the great threat to modern Malaysia.

I am the most demonised politician in the country for the  last half a century, variously defamed  as anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Indian, anti-Chinese-educated Chinese, anti-English-educated Chinese; cause of May 13, 1969 riots in Malaysia as leader of illegal and anti-Malay processions in the streets of Kuala Lumpur when I was never in Kuala Lumpur; a communist,  a relative of Chin Peng; a quadruple secret agent serving the CIA, KGB, M16 and the Australian Secret Service; a multi-billionaire who had received RM1 billion each from Dr. Mahahir Mohamad and the Israelis; previously alleged that I would be Prime Minister if Pakatan Harapan wins the 14th General Election; now accused of being the “real power” in the Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya with Mahathir, Anwar, Azizah, Azmin, Mat Sabu as my puppets under my thumb, and a long list of other wild and bizarre allegations.

In my life, I have never said or done a single thing which could be construed as anti-Malay or anti-Islam as Malaysia can only be a top world-class nation if we leverage on the assets and best qualities of the diverse races, religions and civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia to build a new civilisation for the world.

This cannot be achieved by being anti any race, religion, culture or civilisation in Malaysia, but only through an inclusive approach which adopts the best from the different races, religions, cultures and civilisations which meet in Malaysia to build a new civilisation for the world.

DAP has been accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam, which is completely baseless as DAP was founded 53 years ago to be a party not for anyone race or  any one religion but for all Malaysians, whether they are Chinese, Malays, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Asli, whether they are Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus or Sikhs.

I have never been anti-Malay or anti-Islam. In fact, I have a sister before I was born who was given away to a Malay family in Batu Pahat. I do not know whether she is still alive but it will be great if she is still alive and to be able to meet her.

For the immediate present, we are confronted with the challenge of the Cameron Highlands by-election, as the dates for the nomination on 12th January and polling on 26th January had been announced by the Election Commission.

Cameron Highlands had always been one of the “fixed deposit” parliamentary seats of the Barisan Nasional in the past six decades.

We had won the  majority support of the Chinese and Indian voters in the 14th General Election  but secured only  minority support from the Malay and Orang Asli voters.

The Pakatan Harapan’s  challenge in the Cameron Highlands by-election is to maintain the support of the Chinese and Indians voters on the one hand, while increasing the support of the Malay and Orang Asli voters until we could cross the majority mark by one or both of these two groups.

If we can do this, then the DAP/Pakatan Harapan by-election workers in the Cameron Highlands will be “miracle-workers”!  Let the DAP/Pakatan Harapan “miracle-workers” get to work!

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the 2019 New Year’s Eve Fire-Gathering at Kampong Orang Asli Semoi Lama, Pos Lenyang, Cameron Highlands on 31st December 2018 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 2 January 2019, 12:08 pm and is filed under
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UMNO Supreme Council should take responsibility to clear up the financial mess in Utusan Malaysia and not make the Utusan journalists scapegoats of UMNO kleptocracy and incompetence

The UMNO Supreme Council must take responsibility and clear up the financial mess in Utusan Malaysia and not make the Utusan Malaysia journalists as scapegoats of Umno kleptocracy and incompetence.

The Utusan Melayu Bhd staff have urged  Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir to return as executive chairman so that he can complete the task of turning the company – which is in a financial mess – around, as Aziz was fully aware of the company’s situation, having put in place a rescue plan for Utusan last June.

Nobody knows whether  Aziz’s return to Utusan Malaysia would turn the newspaper around,  but I fully agree with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretary Basir Abu Bakar, who is also an Utusan reporter, that whoever helms the company must be committed to saving Utusan.

I will go one step further and state that  the UMNO Supreme Council must not be allowed to run away from its responsibility to the Utusan Malaysia journalists, including those who have recently left, as UMNO’s fall from power in Putrajaya in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 cannot and must not be used as an excuse to dismiss the Utusan Malaysia journalists – unless UMNO is going to dissolve itself!

In this connection, I fully endorse the call of Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) to the Utusan Malaysia management to take swift actions to resolve its outstanding issues with Utusan as it is unfair for Utusan Malaysia’s management to sideline the rights of their former workers who for many years had contributed to the company and made a sacrifice in order to keep the country’s oldest Malay newspaper afloat.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 2nd January 2019)

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Annuar Musa as good as admitting that UMNO/BN had been committing “daylight robberies” to overstay in power in Putrajaya

I am surprised by the outburst by the UMNO Secretary-General Tan Sri Annuar Musa yesterday contesting my claim that  DAP and Pakatan Harapan will be the underdogs in the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26, 2019, and that my being trapped in Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama in Ulu Jelai on New Year’s Eve was  an indictment of the failures and neglect of the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government over the last few decades to uplift the Orang Asli community into the mainstream of national development, where the Orang Asli community can enjoy access to the most basic necessities  which the Orang Asli people are entitled to as citizens of Malaysia, whether in medical aid, educational and economic opportunities, basic infrastructure facilities of clean water and electricity, and most important of all to them, land rights.

Annuar was  shedding crocodile’s tears.

If Pakatan Harapan is in the business of abuse of  powers and misuse of government resources, I would not be trapped in Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama on New Year’s Eve, as a  helicopter would have been summoned to fly me out of Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama, leaving the Semais to be cut off  from  the outside world – in an  era of information when information travels at the speed of light.

Imagine Najib when he was Prime Minister  being trapped in Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama on New Year’s Eve, completely cut off from the world outside?  Unthinkable!

But no helicopter lifted me out of Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama on New Year’s Eve – the most powerful proof that Pakatan Harapan is not UMNO or Barisan Nasional.

In fact, it was only after I was trapped in Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama that I found out that the director-general of Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) for the past seven months is a local Orang Asli from Kuala Koyan, Datuk Ajis Sitin.

This illustrates the second major difference between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional. In the former during old times, the JAKOA director-general would be required to be part of the visit delegation into the Orang Asli interior, and every spot of the visit followed and anticipated.

Was it conceivable that the Director of JAKOA would have been trapped to spend a night in Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama, completely cut off from the outside world?

In fact, after realising that the Director-General of JAKOA is a local Orang Asli from Ulu Jelai, Cameron Highlands, I paid him a courtesy call in the JAKOA headquarters yesterday.

He told me that the three Orang Asli areas which require the  most efforts in upliftment in Peninsular Malaysia were Ulu Perak, Ulu Kelantan and Ulu Jelai, with the Ulu Jelai the most backward of all.

Ajis, a senior civil engineer at the Public Works Department, served as deputy director-general (development) of JAKOA last October before he became the  JAKOA director-general.

I am quite encouraged by Annuar’s outburst over my speech at Kampong Orang Asli Simoi Lama on New Year’s Eve that it would be a “miracle” for the DAP/Pakatan Harapan candidate to win the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26, for two reasons.

Firstly, it is an indication that such a “miracle” might happen.

Was Annuar suggesting that the Pakatan Harapan’s victories in four previous by-elections after the 14th General Election – Sungai Kandis, Seri Setia and Balakong state assembly by-elections in Selangor and the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election – were “daylight robberies” by Pakatan Harapan?

If so, why such a wild allegation had not been made after these four by-elections, but only being made now by the UMNO Secretary-General?

Secondly, Annuar was as good as admitting that UMNO and Barisan Nasional had been committing “daylight robberies” to overstay in power in Putrajaya, enabling them to continue to be  ensconced in power in Putrajaya in total disregard of the democratic principle of “one man, one vote, one value”!

In responding to my statement that that it would be a “miracle” if DAP and Pakatan Harapan wins the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26, Annuar tweeted:

“A miracle? With opposition hands tied, accounts frozen, incumbent disqualified, (Election Commission) chief a political appointee, government machinery at Harapan’s disposal, and ‘political donations’ by the millions… no way (will it be) a miracle, Lim, but it is going to be a daylight robbery!”

Discerning Malaysians can see through the hollowness of Annuar’s arguments, but this was as good as a confession that UMNO and Barisan Nasional had been committing “daylight robberies” in the last few decades to overstay in power – as evident by the fact that in the 2013 General Election, UMNO/BN won only 47.3% of the popular vote but secured 60% of the parliamentary seats.

May be, Annuar should be reminded as to why we are having a by-election in Cameron Highlands on January 26 – that the Barisan Nasional’s victory for the parliamentary constituency of Cameron Highlands in the 14th General Election was declared null and void  by the Election Court which found that corrupt practices had been committed to induce voters to vote for Barisan Nasional!

Election Judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi had held that corrupt practices had been proven to have been committed with the knowledge and consent of the Cameron Highlands MP Datuk C. Sivarraajh, namely giving of money to voters to induce them  to vote for BN.

She said:

“I am of the considered opinion that the petitioner has established beyond reasonable doubt that bribery was proven, in that money was given to voters either directly by the respondent or indirectly through Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (Jelai Assemblyman) or Achom (an Orang Asli who acted as an agent for Wan Rosdy) and that the money was given to the voters to induce them to vote (for BN).”

What is most incriminating is Sivarraajh’s failure to appeal against the Election Court’s decision despite his announcement that he would be appealing against the decision.

Under the circumstances, would Annuar agree that both Sivarraajh and Assemblyman for Jelai, Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, who is the Pahang Mentri Besar, should be asked to say away from the Cameron Highlands by-election as both of them have been named as involved in corrupt practice and money politics in the 14th General Election?

Finally, I want to warn all DAP/Pakatan Harapan by-election workers not to  be bamboozled by Annuar’s outburst, and never to take things for granted as Cameron Highlands is one of the most invincible UMNO/BN parliamentary constituencies in the country.

The 14th General Election result on May 9, 2018 toppling the Najib government was as good as a political “miracle” which I had not expected. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had said he had not anticipated  it either.  But Datuk Seri Najib Razak was very sure of winning, even recapturing two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 14th General Election.

Let the voters of Cameron Highlands produce an election “miracle” on January 26 by ensuring a victory for the DAP/Pakatan Harapan candidate!

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 3rd January 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 3 January 2019, 8:13 am and is filed under
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Diversion of  30 per cent or any percentage  of school allocation for any political purpose is sheer corruption and not permitted Pakatan Harapan practice but belongs to Barisan Nasional era of the past, and must be exposed and rooted out and individuals concerned punished according to the law and sacked if he holds any political office

Since 7 pm yesterday, the Sin Chew street edition  had carried a shocking front-page expose of compulsory diversion of  30 per cent of school allocations in Muar allegedly by a special officer of an elected representative.

The diversion of 30 per cent or any percentage of school allocation for any political purpose is sheer corruption and  not permitted Pakatan Harapan practice but belongs to Barisan Nasional era of the past, and must be exposed and rooted out and the individuals concerned punished according to the law and sacked if he holds any political office.

There can be no compromise with such corrupt practices and those who are  guilty of such corrupt practices, regardless of which Pakatan Harapan party they are from, must be prosecuted to the hilt without any mercy.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 3rd January 2019)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 3 January 2019, 8:25 am and is filed under
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The battle against kleptocracy must be widened to include not only the kleptocrats but also  the “enablers of kleptocracy” to ensure that the culture of integrity strikes deep root in Malaysia in our journey to transform a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity

The New Year of 2019 has only entered into the fourth day  but it is pregnant with meaning for Malaysians who want to see the culture of integrity strike deep root in Malaysia in our journey to transform a global kleptocracy into a leading a nation of integrity, with the battle against kleptocracy  widened to include a war   not only against kleptocrats but also against the “enablers of kleptocracy”!

It is good  to see that a top MCA leader has acknowledged the existence of “enablers of kleptocracy” in a media statement dated 1st January 2019, although the MCA leadership has still to pluck up sufficient political courage and patriotism to acknowledge that  the ignominious chapter in the nation’s history where the country was condemned worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” was because MCA Ministers and leaders became  “enablers of kleptocracy”, aiding and abetting former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the monstrous 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal and other 1MDB-line scandals in Felda, Felcra, Tabung Haji and MARA.

Malaysians must adopt the attitude that governments can come and go, but the campaign to improve Malaysia’s integrity in the international community must continue relentlessly, as reflected in the various integrity indices, like the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

This is why on final days of 2018, I had called for  a step closer  to closure of the monstrous 1MDB scandal and kleptocratic Malaysia with all who had aided and abetted Najib in his kleptocratic rule – including former Ministers and MPs – apologising to all Malaysians for being “enablers of Najib kleptocracy” instead of carrying the cross of being “enablers of kleptocracy” into the new year, like the MCA President Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Furthermore,  I had also urged all political parties and politicians, including MPs of the 13th Parliament, to  return to public coffers any funding and donations they had received from the 1MDB scandal.

The first three days of 2019 had begun with a fantastic start  with regard to the sacred task to implant the culture of integrity in Malaysia so as to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity.

Firstly, there was continuing public debate and expression of shock by a widening circle of Malaysian society over Bersatu vice-president Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman’s call for the party to use government resources so that it can hold on to power “by hook or by crook”.

I believe the overwhelming majority of Pakatan Harapan leaders and members do not want to hold on to power “by hook or by crook” or the Pakatan Harapan would be no different from Najib’s UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

The year 2019 will be a test whether Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya is committed to electoral and institutional reforms to ensure that the culture of integrity strike deep roots in Malaysian society, and Malaysia is looked up as a model by the world in  our commitment to accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance.

I fully support Bersih’s call for an Administrative Neutrality Act to deal with political patronage, as well as the abuse of government resources or public power for partisan purposes.

Those who commit crimes should face criminal prosecution, while those who fail to justify their acts must  be subject to administrative penalties, such as termination of service, demotion or transfer.

Parliament should enact a Political Financing Control Act, as stated under Promise 18 in Harapan’s election manifesto, as a measure against the misappropriation and misuse of funds belonging to the government by political parties, as in the 1MDB scandal.

Secondly, Malaysians can take heart from the Muar incident  over the allegation of 30 per cent commission demanded by politicians over educational development allocations to schools, and the alacrity with which the  Minister of Youth and Sports and MP for Muar, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, had acted in  asking his office to lodge a police report over an individual claiming to be “an assistant of the Muar MP” and soliciting 30% commission for services.

Thirdly, the  Court of Appeal decision yesterday upholding the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court decision on Feb. 19, 2016 jailing the former Pahang Umno Youth chief Datuk Mohd Mustafa Mohd Khalid for three years for cheating a managing director of a company of RM1 million over a Scanning System project.

It is a clear and unmistakable signal that the era that politicians and political operatives can get away with corruption and bribery with immunity and impunity is  over, and there is a new respect for the rule of law to maintain public integrity in Malaysia.

Fourthly, and most important of all, the country will be holding a parliamentary by-election because we are entering a new phase where there must also be integrity in the electoral process, where there is no money politics and electoral offences in elections.

The Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election on January 26 will be the first of its kind, heralding that the country is committed to integrity in its public institutions and systems.

The Camerons Highlands by-election should be between integrity as represented by Pakatan Harapan and kleptocracy as represented by Barisan Nasional.

It was from the Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands that I learn the term “roti canai” roads, ie. substandard roads, because of poor workmanship and corruption.

These  “roti canai” roads rapidly deteriorate as there is only a thin film of cement on top to hide the shoddy work.

Let the Cameron Highlands signal the advent of a New Malaysia, where corruption and improprieties in any form are condemned and penalised.

Is the Barisan Nasional  prepared to enter into a pledge of public integrity in the Cameron Highlands by-election, highlighting the  national resolve and commitment to instil a culture of integrity in public life including an unremitting war not only against kleptocracy but also  against the enablers of kleptocracy in Malaysia  in the past few years?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Islander  Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 4th January 2019)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 4 January 2019, 8:53 am and is filed under
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Manogaran will be voice of Orang Asli, not only from Cameron Highlands but of Malaysia, in Parliament if he is elected MP on January 26

M. Manogaran will be the voice of Orang Asli, not only from Cameron Highlands, but from all over Malaysia, in Parliament if he is elected Member of Parliamnt for Cameron Highands on January 26.

Although MIC Vice President C Sivarraajh was elected Member of Parliament from May 9, 2018 until the end of November when his election was declared null and void because of money politics and electoral corruption, Sivaraajh had not asked a single question on the problems of the Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands in the two parliamentary meetings in the six months he was MP.

This despite the fact that Cameron Highands is the parliamentary constituency with the largest number of Orang Aslis in the country, followed by Tapan and Gua Musang.

This is an example of his irresponsibility and negligence as MP for Cameron Highlands.

Former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib had said that Cameron Highlands by-election should be easy victory for the Barisan Nasional.

Two questions arises: Firstly, is Najib still the leader of Barisan Nasional.

Secondly, does Barisan Nasional still exist, as MCA wants the people to believe that Barisan Nasional is to be dissolved. May be the new MCA President, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong can explain whether the MCA will help in the Barisan Nasional campaign in the Cameron Highlands by-election, as PAS has stated that it would help BN in the by-election campaign.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang when opening the Pakatan Harapan Cameron Highlands by-election bilik gerakan at Kampong Orang Asli Sungai Relong, Pos Menson on Saturday, 5th January 2019 at 6 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 5 January 2019, 7:57 pm and is filed under
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Two tasks for the 450 DAP Councillors to build a New Malaysia  – to establish a clean and incorruptible culture of service and to be a force to promote  understanding, tolerance, unity and harmony among   diverse races,  religions and cultures in Malaysia

I am somewhat surprised not that we have a retreat for local councillors, but that we have quite a large number of some 450 local councillors in the country – apart from the 42 DAP Members of Parliament and 119 State Assembly men/women in the country.

DAP has come a long way since our puny establishment 53 years ago, and it is important that the present generation of DAP leaders, in  particular the DAP Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, State  Ministers and Exco and State Assembly representatives as well as the 450 local councillors should never forget where the DAP came  from and where we want to go – the DAP came from ordinary Malaysians regardless of race or religion  and our common objective is  to help build a just,  clean, free, democratic, united  and prosperous Malaysia.

Regardless of our race, religion, class or background, we are first and foremost Malaysians and our motherland is Malaysia – and none other.

I want to outline  two great tasks for the 450 DAP Councillors in the building a a New  Malaysia – to establish a clean and incorruptible culture of service and to be a force to promote  understanding, tolerance, unity and harmony among  diverse races,  religions and cultures in Malaysia.

One of the greatest achievements of Malaysians on that historic day of the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 was to save Malaysia from hurtling  in the trajectory of a sham democracy, a kakistocracy, a failed state and a global kleptocracy.

Among others, we are now engaged in the great task of transforming Malaysia from  a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity. How do we leapfrog to accomplish such a herculeian task?

The past eight months were really  historic in the annals of anti-corruption in Malaysia, for never in the last six decades of Malaysian history had there been so many “sharks”, both in size and numbers,  been arrested and  charged in court for corruption – a former Prime Minister, former FLOM, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Cabinet Ministers and grandees of the previous government who during the height of their  power could turn night into day and day into night!

Many Malaysians have complained why the kleptocrats are still  free and at large, some pretending to be saviours of the people with daily statements and FaceBook posts, when they had betrayed the national interests by making rampant corruption the norm in Malaysia, resulting in Malaysia being condemned as a global kleptocracy with the dubious honour of being the target of the world’s largest kleptocratic litigation by the United States Department of Justice more than two years ago when it launched its kleptocratic proceedings against the international 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal!

But if we are to restore and respect the rule of law, we must put up with such delays as the legal process takes time.

Under the National Integrity Plan initiated by the fifth Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Badawi, Malaysia aimed to be ranked No. 30 by 2008, but ten years later, we are now ranked No. 62 out of 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2017, with a TI CPI score even lower than 23 years ago when the annual TI CPI series was inaugurated in 1995.

But the anti-corruption efforts cannot be confined to hauling, convicting and jailing the “sharks” to courts to face the process of  justice, as there must be institutional reforms in the system of governance in the country and nation-wide educational programmes to implant  a new culture of integrity and incorruptibility in public service.

This is why the recent call by the Bersatu vice president Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahman for the party to use government resources to  hold on to power “by hook or by crook” has caused so much dismay,  uproar and heart-burns, for it runs against the  very grain of the great national effort on  May 9, 2018 to save Malaysia from global kleptocracy and kakistocracy!

Malaysians do not want to change one team of  UMNO/Barisan Nasional kleptocrats with another team of  Pakatan Harapan kleptocrats, but to eradicate kleptocracy altogether and introduce  a new culture of integrity in public service.

This is why I said that for many in DAP and Pakatan Harapan,  we prefer to lose power than to hang on to power by corrupt, undemocratic or other  devilish means.

I said yesterday that I believed the overwhelming majority of Pakatan Harapan leaders and members do not want to hold on to power “by hook or by crook” or the Pakatan Harapan would be no different from Najib’s UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

A few asked why not all but just  “the overwhelming majority” of Pakataln Harapan leaders?

Under the old Barisan Nasional, the overwhelming majority would want to hang on to power “by hook or by crook” – like the MCA President Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong  and the UMNO/BN Ministers of the Najib Cabinet.

I think we have made great progress in introducing a new culture of integrity and incorruptibility in public service, where  the people  through the ballot box have transformed the “overwhelming majority” of those in power from wanting to hold on to power “by hook or by crook” to one which is prepared  lose power as they reject the notion of hanging onto power “by hook or by crook”!

The recent Muar incident  over the allegation of 30 per cent commission demanded by local politicians over educational development allocations to schools, which had been handled ably by the alacrity with which the  Minister of Youth and Sports and MP for Muar, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, had acted  by asking his office to lodge a police report over an individual claiming to be “an assistant of the Muar MP” and soliciting 30% commission for services, reminds me of what happened 12 years ago in 2016.

This was when Ong Tee Kiat, who was then the MCA National Vice President and Deputy Higher Education Minister  was pilloried by “half-past six” Ministers in Cabinet  for  speaking out against “leakages”, abuse and misappropriation of public funds meant for Chinese schools,  in this particular case,it was   a shocking 90% misuse of funds in the RM30,000 allocation for repair of SJKC Kung Yu, where only RM3,000 worth of work was done for a RM30,000 project!

In keeping with the concept of holding on  to power “by hook or by crook”, none of the four MCA Ministers in the Cabinet at the time stood up to defend Tee Kiat against the onslaught against him by UMNO Ministers led by the then Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein, who said he would never forgive Tee Kiat or forget the incident.

Pakatan Harapan is very diametrically different from UMNO, MCA and Barisan Nasional. When  Sin Chew Daily published the shocking front-page expose of a 30 per cent diversion of school allocations in Muar by an alleged aide of an elected representative, I reacted immediately as a matter of principle to declare that “the diversion of 30 per cent or any percentage of school allocation for any political purpose is sheer corruption and  not permitted Pakatan Harapan practice but belongs to Barisan Nasional era of the past, and must be exposed and rooted out and the individuals concerned punished according to the law and sacked if he holds any political office”.

I said there could be no compromise with such corrupt practices and those who are  guilty of such corrupt practices, regardless of which Pakatan Harapan party they are from, must be prosecuted to the hilt without any mercy.

I am glad that I was contacted by Syed Saddiq’s parliamentary office to inform me that a police had been lodged over the allegation that a man posing as a parliamentarian’s aide was asking for kickbacks from school boards in Muar, Johor.

This case illustrates the world of a difference between the Pakatan Harapan and the Barisan Nasional on the issue of corruption and abuses of power.

DAP’s stand against kleptocracy, abuse of power and all forms of corruption is principled and uncompromising.  DAP leaders, whether Ministers, Deputy Ministers, State Ministers and Excos, MPs, State Assembly representatives and local councillors are required to put integrity on top of everything else.

For this reason, I recommend to the DAP Central Executive Committee the establishment of a mechanism to monitor all DAP leaders holding public office, whether as Ministers, Deputy Ministers, State Ministers and Excos, MPs, State Assembly representatives and local councillors especially with regard to integrity and incorruptibility.

As far as the DAP is concerned, the party controls the leaders in government, whether federal or state, and not the other way round of the government controlling the party.

The role of local councillors are critical if Pakatan Harapan is to succeed in transforming Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity.

On 28th February 2017 in Kuala Lumpur , the Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) President, Dato’ Akhbar Satar released the findings of the 2017 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – Asia Pacific Region, which surveyed the public’s perceptions of corruption and the government’s effectiveness in tackling corruption.

21,861 people across 16 countries in the Asia Pacific Region from July 2015 to January 2017 participated in the exercise. The countries surveyed were: Australia, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Mongolia. Interviews were conducted throughout Malaysia’s 13 states using random sampling. In total, 1,009 respondents in Malaysia  were interviewed between September 2016 and December 2016 and the gender distribution was 50% male and 50% female

With regards to the perceived level of corruption, the GCB results found that 60% of the respondents felt the level of corruption in Malaysia  had increased and only 11% said that corruption had decreased a little as compared to 40% for the region who felt that corruption had increased and 22 per cent who felt that corruption had decreased..

Interestingly, in the 2013 GCB survey,  only 39% of respondents in Malaysia felt corruption had increased.

54% of the Malaysians felt that the management of the economy is the most important problem that the Government should address. 62% of Malaysians feel that current government is handling the fight against corruption badly as compared to 50% for the region.

53% of Malaysian felt that the Government is ineffective in handling the fight against corruption, as compared to 25% in the GCB four years ago in 2013.

41% of Malaysians said that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is doing badly at fighting corruption, while only 25% were of the view that the MACC had handled the task “well”, with 27 per cent in the “don’t know” category.

The institutions perceived to be involved in corruption are in Malaysia: Police (57%), Local Government and Councillors (48%), Tax officials (48%), Business Executives (46%), Government officials (45%), Representatives in Legislature (41%), Prime Minister and his officials (41%), Judges and Magistrates (33%), and religious leaders (31%), as compared to the regional average of Police (39%), Local Government and Councillors (35%), Tax Officials (29%). Business Executives (29%), Government officials (35%), Representatives in Legislature (37%), Prime Minister and his officials (31%),Judges and Magistrates (25%) and Religious Leaders (18%).

From every occupational sector, whether Police, Local Government and Councillors, Tax Offcials, Business Executives, Government Officials, Representatives in Legislature, Prime Minister and his officials, Judges and Magistrates, and religious leaders, Malaysia is more corrupt than the regional average!

It will be interesting to see what progress we have achieved in ensuring integrity and fighting corruption since the historic day in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, but we must not rest content until we have achieved better status than the regional average for the 16 Asian-Pacific countries survey by GCB.

In particular, for Local Government and Councillors, I challenge the 450 DAP Local Councillors to give priority to integrity in local government so that we can not only better the regional average of 35%, but be the lead country in the region beating countries which are better than the regional average,  viz: Hong Kong (13%), China (14%), Australia (17%), Myanmar (22%), Cambodia (23%), Vietnam (25%), Sri Lanka (28%), Mongolia, (29%) Japan (31%).

The other national challenge which I want to pose to DAP local councillors is to be a force to promote  understanding, tolerance, unity and harmony of  diverse races,  religions  and culture in Malaysia.

The clarification by the Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yesterday that he had never said that the government rejected the recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in his interview with Sin Chew on Tuesday as all he said was that the  sensitivities of all races must be considered should be a lesson all-round.

The MCA leadership had regarded the Sin Chew report as “manna from heaven” and fired off a blizzard of media statements accusing the DAP and Pakatan Harapan on reneging on the Pakatan Harapan manifesto pledge  of recognising the UEC , when this was not the case.

I do not expect the MCA leaders to show any regret for such reckless outbursts, just as they had not shown any contrition for aiding and abetting Najib Razak in the monstrous 1MDB kleptocracy, but  it should be a salutary reminder of the toxic and vicious politics of lies, hate and fear which they MCA  and UMNO politicians are perpetrating.

The Pakatan Harapan manifesto had not promised to recognise the UEC in one hundred days of forming the Federal Government, but to recognise the UEC during the five-year term of office.

I am optimistic that we will be able to fulfil this pledge when the 15th General Election is held  – in  fact, I do not think we have to wait for five years to recognise the UEC.

But I agree that the sensitivities of all communities should be taken into consideration especially as UMNO and PAS leaders are resorting to the desperate,  dangerous and toxic politics of lies, hate and fear in their attempt to create racial and religious polarisation and engender instability in the country.

What is shocking is that MCA leaders are egging the UMNO and PAS leaders to resort to the vicious and toxic politics of lies, fear, hate, race and religion, as in arousing fears among the Malays that the recognit6ion of UEC would threaten Malay rights and interests and this is why we see the MCA co-operating with UMNO and PAS in the recent by-elections, and the forthcoming Cameron  Highlands by-election would be no exception

Pakatan Harapan’s greatest challenge is to introduce an all-embracing and inclusive politics in plural Malaysia where very racial and religious group in the country must learn to be aware and respect the sensitivities of other races and religions.

We must not take the sensitivities of other races and religions for granted.

There is a tendency for each racial or religious group to live in their own world, when we must encourage all racial and religious groups to interact, understand and respect each other’s sensitivities.

I am confident that that the desperate and dangerous politicians who are resorting to the toxic and vicious politics of lies, fear, hate, race and religion are fighting a losing battle, as I have confidence that Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, want Malaysia to succeed and become a world top-class nation where we compete with the rest of the world instead of fighting among ourselves.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the opening of the DAP Councillors Retreat in Putrajaya on Saturday, 5th January 2019 at 10 am)

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Najib had failed the Orang Aslis as Prime Minister  by focusing on the international 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal instead of bringing the Orang Asli into the national mainstream of development

One question uppermost in the minds of the voters of Cameron Highlands is why the former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is positioning himself as the primary spokesman for the Barisan Nasional in the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26.

Najib said in Pekan yesterday that he  is confident that the Barisan Nasional will retain its victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election on Jan 26.

As former Prime Minister, why Najib had no sense of shame that the Cameron Highlands by-election is being held because of money-politics, vote-buying and corrupt electoral practices?

I have said that it would require a miracle for the Pakatan Harapan to win the Cameron Highlands by-election, as the seat had always been one of the Barisan Nasional fortresses as evidenced by the fact that the seat had never been won by any other coalition in the nation’s history.

But we are in the era of political miracles, starting with the historic result of the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 despite Najib’s supreme confidence of an easy victory in the 14GE, even for Barisan Nasional to win back two-thirds parliamentary majority lost in the 12th General Election 10 years ago in 2008.

The Cameron Highlands by-election is therefore a second opportunity to prove Najib wrong – and this time,  by the voters of Cameron Highlands.

It is regrettable that Najib is resorting to cheap and low-class politics, which required the Director-General of the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA), Datuk Ajis Sitin to issue a statement yesterday to refute the former Prime Minister’s allegation that the Pakatan Harapan government did not provide allocation for the Orang Asli community in Budget 2019.

Ajis said the Pakatan Harapan government allocated RM100 million for the development and welfare of the Orang Asli community nationwide and the focus will be on the construction and upgrade of roads to facilitate Orang Asli in their daily activities to raise their  socio-economic status.

Najib also launched an attack on me for saying that the previous BN government had neglected  the Orang Asli.

There can be no doubt that Najib, as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia for eight years, had failed the Orang Asli in the country by  focusing on the international 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal and other 1MDB-line scandals in Felda, Felcra, MARA and Tabung Haji  instead of bringing the Orang Asli into the national mainstream of development.

Is Najib prepared to compare the total amount of public funds squandered in the 1MDB scandal and the other 1MDB-like scandals  with the total expenditures spent on Orang Asli development in his eight years as Prime Minister?

It is a crying shame that after six decades of JAKOA history, only about 30 per cent of JAKOA staff are Orang Asli and only two JAKOA State Directors are from the Orang Asli community, when by now, after more than six decades of JOKOA, at least 70 per cent of the JAKOA staff and all State JOKOA Directors should have come from the Orang Asli community.

There are 27 Orang Asli kampongs in the Cameron Highlands constituency, involving 1,637 families with a total population of 6,976 people.

If Najib had not focussed his attention and energies on tne 1MBD scandal and other 1MDB-linked scandals, bogged down in corruption and abuses of power to such extent that Malaysia was condemned by the world as a “global kleptocracy” and he had devoted more funding and resources for the development of the Orang Aslis, the plight of the Orang Aslis in Cameron Highlands today would be in a better position.

Does Najib deny that in this modern age of Internet where information travels at the speed of light, some 20 per cent of the Orang Aslis in the Cameron Highlands constituency live  without electricity.

Can Najib define what he understands  as the meaning of the full success of JAKOA?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands on Sunday, 6th January 2019)

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Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Brinchang, Cameron Highlands pada Ahad, 6 Januari 2019:

Najib mengecewakan masyarakat Orang Asli semasa menjadi Perdana Menteri dengan menumpukan kepada rasuah antarabangsa 1MDB dan skandal pengubahan wang haram daripada membawa masyarakat Orang Asli ke dalam arus utama pembangunan negara

Satu soalan utama yang bermain di fikiran pengundi di Cameron Highlands adalah mengapa bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, meletakkan dirinya sebagai jurucakap utama Barisan Nasional dalam Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Cameron Highlands yang akan diadakan pada 26 Januari nanti.

Najib semasa di Pekan semalam, berkata yang beliau yakin Barisan Nasional (BN) akan mengekalkan kemenangan dalam PRK Cameron Highlands.

Sebagai seorang bekas Perdana Menteri, mengapa Najib tidak ada sekelumit rasa malu terhadap hakikat bahawa PRK Cameron Highlands diadakan susulan terdapat bukti berlakunya politik wang, membeli undi dan amalan rasuah.

Saya sebelum ini ada menyatakan bahawa Pakatan Harapan memerlukan keajaiban untuk menang dalam PRK Cameron Highlands kerana kerusi itu sejak sekian lama merupakan salah satu kubu kuat Barisan Nasional yang tidak ditembusi oleh mana-mana parti lain.

Namun, kita kini berada di dalam era keajaiban politik, bermula dengan keputusan bersejarah Pilihan Raya Umum ke-14 (PRU14) pada 9 Mei 2018, walaupun Najib begitu yakin akan memperoleh kemenangan mudah dan menguasai semula majoriti dua pertiga Parlimen yang gagal direalisasikan mereka dalam PRU12 pada 2008.

Justeru itu, PRK Cameron Highlands adalah peluang kedua untuk membuktikan bahawa Najib salah – dan kali ini, ini harus dibuktikan oleh pengundi Cameron Highlands.

Adalah dikesalkan apabila Najib begitu terdesak sehingga perlu memainkan politik murahan dan menyebabkan Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli (JAKOA) Ajis Sitin terpanggil untuk mengeluarkan kenyataan semalam, bagi menafikan dakwaan bekas Perdana Menteri itu bahawa kerajaan Pakatan Harapan kononnya tidak memberikan peruntukan untuk masyarakat Orang Asli dalam Belanjawan 2019.

Menurut Ajis, kerajaan Pakatan Harapan memperuntukkan sebanyak RM100 juta untuk pembangunan dan kebajikan masyarakat Orang Asli di seluruh negara dan tumpuan akan diberikan bagi membina dan menaik taraf jalan untuk memudahkan Orang Asli melakukan aktiviti seharian, sekali gus meningkatkan status sosio-ekonomi mereka.

Najib turut melakukan serangan terhadap saya berhubung kenyataan saya yang mengatakan kerajaan BN mengabaikan masyarakat Orang Asli.

Tidak boleh dinafikan lagi yang Najib, sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia keenam selama lapan tahun, telah mengecewakan masyarakat Orang Asli di negara ini dengan memberikan tumpuan kepada rasuah antarabangsa 1MDB dan skandal pengubahan wang haram serta skandal lain melibatkan Felda, Felcra, MARA dan Tabung Haji daripada membawa masyarakat Orang Asli ke dalam arus utama pembangunan negara.

Adakah Najib berani untuk membandingkan jumlah dana awam yang telah dibazirkan dalam skandal 1MDB dan skandal serupa 1MDB dengan jumlah keseluruhan perbelanjaan untuk pembangunan Orang Asli selama lapan tahun beliau menjadi Perdana Menteri?

Bukankah memalukan, setelah enam dekad JAKOA ditubuhkan, hanya 30 peratus kakitangan JAKOA adalah terdiri daripada Orang Asli dan hanya dua Pengarah Negeri JAKOA adalah daripada masyarakat Orang Asli, sedangkan sepatutnya sekarang, sekurang-kurangnya 70 peratus kakitangan JAKOA dan semua Pengarah JAKOA perlu datang darpada masyarakat Orang Asli itu sendiri.

Terdapat 27 kampung masyarakat Orang Asli di kawasan Cameron Highlands, melibatkan 1,637 keluarga dengan jumlah penduduk seramai 6,976 orang.

Jika Najib tidak terlalu memberikan tumpuan dan mencurahkan tenaganya kepada skandal 1MDB dan skandal berkaitan 1MDB, terjerumus dalam rasuah dan penyalahgunaan kuasa sehingga Malaysia dikutuk masyarakat dunia dengan gelaran “kleptokrasi global” dan memberikan lebih peruntukan dan sumber untuk pembangunan Orang Asli, nasib Orang Asli di Cameron Highlands hari ini mungkin lebih baik.

Adakah Najib ingin menafikan, dalam era moden Internet di mana maklumat bergerak pantas pada kelajuan cahaya, kira-kira 20 peratus masyarakat Orang Asli di kawasan Cameron Highlands masih belum mendapat kemudahan bekalan elektrik.

Bolehkah Najib menjelaskan apakah sebenarnya yang difahami beliau tentang makna kejayaan JAKOA?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 6 January 2019, 7:00 am and is filed under
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Cameron Highlands by-election is in fact the opening shot of Pakatan Harapan for the 15th General Election to capture the Pahang State Government to be able to resolve the land problem of the Orang Asli

Cameron Highlands is the cynosure of the country for a historic by-election which will be held this month to determine who will be the Member of Parliament for Cameron Highlands.

Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is confident that Barisan Nasional will have an easy victory in the by-election. But just as he was proven wrong in the last general election in May last year when he was confident of an easy and great victory to the extent of BN winning back the two-thirds parliamentary majority, I hope that Najib will be proven wrong again that BN will have a victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election.

Let us work hard for M. Manogaram’s victory as Member of Parliament for Cameron Highlands  in the by-election.

The Cameron Highlands by-election will be an unique one.

MIC wanted to appeal against the Election Court decision which ruled that MIC Vice President C. Sivarraajh’s election as Member of Parliament for Cameron Highlands in May last year was null and void because of corrupt election practices, but was overruled by UMNO to protect UMNO, in particular the Pahang Mentri Besar who is the Assemblyman for Jelai so that the Pahang Mentri Besar’s electoral corruption practices are not further highlighted.

I will not be surprised if MIC is also not allowed to contest in the Cameron Highlands by-election by UMNO, for high stakes are involved in this by-election: it is not only a life-and-death political battle for the Pahang Mentri Besar, it is also a life-and-death political battle for UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

The Cameron Highlands by-election is also important for Pakatan Harapan, for it is the first by-election after the last general election involving a seat of Barisan Nasional as the previous three Selangor State Assembly by-elections and the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election involved Pakatan Harapan seats.

I will go one step further – the Cameron Highlands by-election is in fact the opening shot of Pakatan Harapan for the 15th General Election to capture the Pahang State Governement to be able to resolve the land problem of the Orang Asli.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the opening of the Pakatan Harapan Cameron Highlands by-election bilik gerakan at Pos Lemoi, Cameron Highlands on Sunday, 6th January 2019 at noon)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 7 January 2019, 9:30 am and is filed under
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MIC should immediately quit Barisan Nasional as it is not allowed to contest in Cameron Highlands by-election

It is now clear that MIC is not allowed to contest in the Cameron Highlands by-election.

UMNO will be contesting in the by-election.

Cameron Highlands had never been contested by UMNO in the past sixty years since Merdeka, and the latest development shows the arrogance of UMNO as far as the other BN parties are concerned.

MIC should immediately quit Barisan Nasional if it has any honour  or dignity left, as it should not be another MCA.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang after a walkabout in Kampong Raja with Pakatan Harapan candidate for Cameron Highlands, M. Manogaran and Bandar Baru Brinchang DAP leaders on Monday January 7)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 7 January 2019, 10:05 am and is filed under
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Who will decide who will contest Cameron Highlands by-election on behalf of Barisan Nasional – Barisan Nasional, UMNO, MIC or PAS?

Nomination Day for Cameron Highlands by-election is set for Saturday, January 12 and polling two weeks later on January 26.

Who will decide who will contest the Cameron Highlands by-election on behalf of Barisan Nasional? Barisan Nasional, UMNO, MIC or PAS?

The statement by the MIC Secretary-General S. Vell Paari that UMNO has not requested to contest the Cameron Highlands by-elections means nothing at all.

Dare the MIC President or Secretary-General declare that MIC will definitely be fielding the Cameron Highlands by-election candidate on behalf of Barisan Nasional and resign from his MIC office if this does not happen on Saturday?

Dare the Acting UMNO President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan declare that MIC will definitely be fielding a candidate for the by-election on behalf of Barisan Nasional  and that the candidate will not come from UMNO or any other party? If not, the reason for such thunderous silence?

PAS has declared that it will not contest in the Cameron Highlands by-election but will back a candidate put up by other opposition parties.

Did PAS tell UMNO that a MIC candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election is completely  unacceptable and PAS will not help to bring out the 3,587 votes which the PAS candidate garnered in the constituency in the 14th General Election last May, and this was the reason for the UMNO leadership  overriding the MIC leadership and putting up an UMNO candidate?

Has the MCA leadership led by its new President Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong agreed to the PAS suggestion that the Barisan Nasional candidate in the Cameron Highlands by-election should come from UMNO and not MIC?

I have been in Cameron Highlands twice in the past eight days –  in fact, I was trapped together with the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election, M. Manogaram, the PH MP for Bentong Wong Tack, PH Pahang State Assemblyman for Tanah Rata Chiong Yoke Kong to spend 2019 New Year’s Eve at Kampong Orang Asli Semoi Lama because heavy rain had made the road out of the interior  inaccessible and we were   cut off from all access to the outside world.

In my two visits to Cameron Highlands, I had visited seven of the nine Orang Asli Pos in the constituency which constitute  a total of 27 Orang Asli kampongs, and  had  walkabouts in Ringlet, Bertam Valley and Kampong Raja.

What struck me in the last 24 hours was that to  those-in-the-know about political developments in the country, including the political “aficionados” in Cameron Highlands, they  are fairly unanimous about  the latest political development, viz  MIC would not be contesting in the Cameron Highlands by-election as an UMNO candidate will  be entering the battle.

This had in fact been confirmed by the designated MIC candidate for Cameron Highlands who had confided this development to one of our leaders.

Who is this “mysterious” UMNO candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election? Is he the person who will be tasked with taking over the leadership of the Opposition in Parliament if he can win the Cameron Highlands by-election?

This is why I am not convinced at all by the ambiguous  statement by the MIC Secretary-General which is significant in  that he dare not categorically state that MIC will be fielding a candidate in the Cameron Highlands by-election on behalf of Barisan Nasional.

This leads to the question whether Barisan Nasiuonal Supreme Council had met to discuss which political party would  contest in the Cameron Highlands by-election.

Who can summon a meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council? Although Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has been forced to hand over the duties of the President of UMNO to Mohamad Hasan, Zahid has not announced handing over the duties of President the Barisan Nasional to any other person.  Must the BN Supreme Council meeting decide  who should be the Acting BN President, or is this reserved for the UMNO President?

And has  MIC  become so irrelevant and inconsequential that the BN candidate for Cameron Highlands by-election can be taken away from MIC without any meeting of BN Supreme Council?

Is the MIC leadership capable of categorically  clarifying this important question before this day is over?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Ringlet on Monday, 7th January 2019)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 7 January 2019, 4:57 pm and is filed under
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Call on 32 million Malaysians to have a mindset change for the rise of  a culture of integrity with zero tolerance for corruption  to achieve the New Malaysia objective of transforming a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity

The historic 14th General Election decision of May 9, 2018, when Malaysian voters shocked themselves and the world  in effecting a peaceful and democratic transition of power in a Putrajaya is akin to a miracle.

This is why the 14th Malaysian Election result is quoted by global political observers major publications in the world as one of the great global events for  the year 2018 which has just ended.

The Economist, for instance, in its edition dated Dec. 18, 2018, 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”.

The Economist said:

“Despite Najib Razak’s glaring imperfections, his sacking was a surprise. Malaysia’s ruling party had dominated politics since the 1950s and gerrymandered furiously to keep it that way. Yet the opposition triumphed at an election, and Malaysians enjoyed the delicious spectacle of police removing big boxes of cash, jewellery and designer handbags from their former leader’s home.”

I remember speaking to Malaysians at the University of Hong Kong in November last year, where one of them admitted that for a few years before the historic decision of May 9, 2018,  he had not dared to admit that he was a Malaysian!

This was not an isolated case. For many years, Malaysians who travelled overseas hid their Malaysian origin by claiming that they were from Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore or some vague reference to Borneo, because of the monstrous  1MDB scandal  and  Malaysia’s new reputation as a global kleptocracy under the Najib premiership.

Malaysians have good reasons to be proud of their historic decision of May 9, 2018, but there is a danger that Malaysians may begin to take it for granted, forgetting that the overwhelming majority of Malaysians including Tun Dr. Mahathir and myself  had not expected Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be toppled as Prime Minister and the UMNO/Barisan Nasional political coalition to be drummed out of office in Putrajaya.

Malaysians must never forget the meaning of May 9, 2018 – it was to re-set nation-building policies to Save Malaysia from hurtling towards the trajectory of a sham democracy, a kakistocracy, a failed state and a global kleptocracy.

We want to rebuild a New Malaysia where we can become a top world-class nation in every field of human endeavour; compete with the rest of the world instead of dissipating our energies and resources fighting among  ourselves; restore the rule of law and good governance, and transform a global kleptocracy into a leading nation in integrity.

The past eight months were really  historic in the annals of anti-corruption in Malaysia, for never in the last six decades of Malaysian history had there been so many “sharks”, both in size and numbers, arrested and  charged in court for corruption – a former Prime Minister, former FLOM, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Cabinet Ministers and grandees of the previous government.

But charging, prosecuting, convicting and even jailing kleptocrats do not make a leading nation in integrity.

What is urgently needed is a mindset change among the 32 million Malaysians for a culture of integrity and zero tolerance to be firmly and irrevocably implanted in Malaysia, for it is only then that we can achieve  the New Malaysia objective of transforming a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity.

Recently events have shown that this is no easy task.

Firstly, there was the Muar incident  over the allegation of 30 per cent commission demanded by local politicians over educational development allocations to schools, which reminded me of the 90% “leakage”  scandal in 2006,  when Ong Tee Kiat, then  MCA National Vice President and Deputy Higher Education Minister  exposed the  shocking 90% misuse of funds in the RM30,000 allocation for repair of SJKC Kung Yu in Johore, where only RM3,000 worth of work was done for a RM30,000 project!

There was next the controversy created by Bersatu vice president Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahman calling on  the party to use government resources and  to hold on to power “by hook or by crook” which is totally against a culture of integrity and zero tolerance for corruption.

I have said that Malaysians do not want to change one team of UMNO/Barisan Nasional kleptocrats with another team of Pakatan Harapan kleptocrats, and that the   DAP is prepared and   prefer to lose power than to hang on to power by corrupt, undemocratic or other devilish means.

The third and  latest incident is the allegation of wrongdoings with forged documents being used to claim public funds which emanated from one the state chapters of one of the four parties in Pakatan Harapan.

It is salutary reminder that there must a  change of mindset among the 32 million Malaysians and among all the levels of leadership and membership of the four component parties in Pakatan Harapan so that we can have a culture of integrity and zero tolerance for corruption among the populace.

The “drama” of big sharks being hauled to court on multiple counts on corruption and abuses of power by itself  is inadequate to instil among Malaysians a culture of integrity and zero tolerance for corruption.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the Pudu Rotary Dinner at Shangrila Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 7th January 2019 at 8 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 January 2019, 4:55 pm and is filed under
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More productive for  Najib to use his daily multiple FaceBook postings to explain the lessons to be learnt from his failure as sixth Prime Minister to bring the Orang Asli into the national mainstream of development in the past eight years

After he had been evicted from Putrajaya and his ouster as the Prime Minister of Malaysia in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has suddenly become a very prolific user of his FaceBook account, making multiple postings each  day.

However, his FaceBook silence after my statement in Brinchang on Sunday that he had failed the Orang Aslis as Prime Minister  for he had focussed  on the international 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal instead of bringing the Orang Asli into the national mainstream of development is tantamount to his admission that he had i failed the Orang Asli community in his eight years as Prime Minister.

It would be more productive if Najib had used his daily multiple FaceBook postings to explain the lessons to be learnt from his failure  as sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia to bring the Orang Asli into the national mainstream of development in the past eight years.

The Cameron Highlands by-election is a most appropriate time to review  the KPIs and record of  the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA) which was formed sixty years ago for the empowerment, development and upliftment of the Orang Asli community in the country.

If Najib had not failed the Orang Asli Community, the Orang Asli community today would not be as poor, neglected and marginalised in all aspects of development.

It is crying shame that after six decades of “empowerment, development and upliftment” of the Orang Asli community in the country, only some 21 per cent of the JAKOA staff are Orang Asli – and that an Orang Asli was only appointed this year to become JAKOA Director-General.

If JAKOA had not been such a failure under Najib’s eight-year premiership, at least 70 per cent of the JAKOA staff and all State JAKOA Directors would have come from the Orang Asli community.

Are we going to have JAKOA for the next 20, 30 or 50 years?

Ironically, the success of JAKOA to ensure that the Orang Asli community becomes a modern and progressive community, fully participating in the national mainstream of development, would be to work for its own dissolution – for there would be no need for JAKOA if it had accomplished its mission to fully develop, empower and uplift the Orang Asli community to be able to their rightful place in the nation in the 21st century on par with other communities, whether Malays, Chinese or Indians.

Over the years and decades, there should be less and less need for JAKOA because more and more Orang Aslis have been empowered, developed and uplifted to be productive and useful citizens of the community. Is this the position?

Cameron Highlands is the parliamentary constituency with the largest percentage of Orang Asli votes – some 20 per cent – followed by Tapan and Gua Musang parliamentary constituencies.

It will be foolish in the highest degree if Malaysians do not use the Cameron Highlands by-election to highlight the plight of the Orang Asli six decades after Merdeka, and why all Malaysian stakeholders must have a mindset change on the issue if the back of the problem of poverty, backwardness and marginalisation of the Orang Asli people is  going to be resolved.

This is why I had suggested during my visit to Cameron Highlands Orang Asli kampongs on New Year’s Eve that the by-election should be maximised as an opportunity for the Orang Asli community in Cameron Highlands to set the historic pace for the 200,000 Orang Asli in the country by holding a National Orang Asli Conference to formulate a blueprint for the upliftment of Orang Asli community in Malaysia.

NGOs, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, political leaders of all shades, should throng to Cameron Highlands during the by-election to highlight the issues faced by the people in Cameron Highlands, in particular, the problems faced by the Orang Asli community.

But it would appear that there are people who think otherwise, that instead  of thronging to Cameron Highlands, they want outsiders to  stay away from Cameron Highlands – a view  which I do not agree.

I have said that one question uppermost in many  minds is why Najib is positioning himself as the primary spokesman for the Barisan Nasional in the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26, with his statement in Pekan over the weekened that Barisan Nasional will retain its victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election on Jan 26.

I had also asked whether as  former Prime Minister, Najib had any sense of shame that the Cameron Highlands by-election is being held because of money-politics, vote-buying and corrupt electoral practices?

Will  there be answers from Najib in his FaceBook postings?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 10th  January 2019)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 January 2019, 12:24 pm and is filed under
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What is MCA’s stand that the MIC candidate for Cameron Highlands by-election should be dropped in favour of an UMNO candidate?

The MIC top leaders seemed to have gone into hiding or appointed the UMNO Supreme Council member, Tan Sri Noh Omar, to be the MIC spokesman to respond to  questions directed at MIC leaders.

History of sorts had been made as this is the first time that the MIC national leadership has to appoint an UMNO leader to be its spokesman.

My question yesterday was – Who will decide who will contest the Cameron Highlands by-election on behalf of Barisan Nasional? Barisan Nasional, UMNO, MIC or PAS?

But Noh has also demanded that MIC give way to UMNO to field the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election.

It has been reported that the latest development about the BN candidature for Cameron Highlands by-election had come as a shock to the top MIC leaders as most MIC divisions had sent people to assist in Cameron Highlands.

In the last three days, many MIC people, including the designated MIC candidate, had packed up in Cameron Highlands  and returned home.

It has been reported that the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council would meet on Thursday, 10th January, to decide on the issue of BN candidate in Cameron Highlands as the BN Supreme Council meeting scheduled  yesterday for the same purpose had been aborted.

An interesting question is what is the stand of the MCA in the BN Supreme Council that the MIC candidate for Cameron Highlands by-election should be dropped in favour of an UMNO candidate?

After the Barisan Nasional electoral disaster in the 14th General Election, there was an  exodus of component parties from the  13-member Barisan Nasional, which is now left with three political parties – UMNO, MCA and MIC.

If MCA supports MIC that the BN candidate for Cameron Highlands by-election should remain a candidate from MIC, then UMNO would be out-voted in a 2-1 result in the BN Supreme Council.

But dare MCA side with MIC against UMNO?  Does UMNO exercise a secret veto power in the BN Supreme Council?

If we go by Noh Omar’s logic, then UMNO will next demand to take back the Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat from MCA, and Wee Ka Siong would have no parliamentary seat to go to.

But dare  Wee Ka Siong defend MIC’s right to field the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election?

We will know soon enough.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 7th January 2018)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 January 2019, 6:32 pm and is filed under
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