(Media Conference Statement by DAP Parliamentary Candidate for Ipoh Timur Lim Kit Siang at the DAP Ipoh Timur Ops Centre, Ipoh on Friday, 7th March 2008 at 12 noon)

I am utterly shocked and stunned – that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has done what even Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in his most undemocratic excesses had never done in 22 years as Prime Minister, trying to force the Chinese voters to vote for MCA and Gerakan with the irresponsible threat that they could end up without any Chinese Ministers or representation in Government.

It is a grave sign of political desperation and bankruptcy – that Abdullah himself should go down into the gutter to indulge in the politics of scare, intimidation and blackmail to force the Chinese voters to vote for MCA and Gerakan candidates.

The MCA leadership has been adopting a “Jekyll-and-Hyde” attitude – playing both the role of human being and the devil at the same time – with the MCA Deputy President Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy boldly declaring only yesterday that MCA is confident it will be able to capture the majority of the 40 parliamentary and 60 state assembly seats it is contesting, while on the other hand, egging Abdullah to warn that the Chinese will end up not having any representation in the Government if the Chinese give the DAP their votes.

Why is Abdullah prepared to do the “dirty work” for MCA with the baseless poser that the Chinese have to decide if they want a louder voice in Parliament or representation in the Cabinet, when Chan Kong Choy had just said that the MCA is confident of winning the majority of the parliamentary and state assembly seats it is contesting?

When Abdullah said that the Chinese have to decide if they want a louder voice in Parliament or representation in the Cabinet, is he suggesting that the MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting could be defeated in the Kulai parliamentary seat and that all the 40 parliamentary and 60 state assembly candidates of MCA could all be wiped out in the general election tomorrow?

From the wind of change blowing throughout the country, if they reach a great velocity on polling day tomorrow, I expect MCA to lose many parliamentary and state assembly seats but never near being wiped out completely in Parliament and the State Assemblies as to have no representation in the government, both at national and state levels.

Abdullah referred to the 1990 general election when the MCA was “paralysed”, saying: “When the MCA lost its voice, the people felt it. I hope they will think very carefully. This is important in the interests of all races.”

Abdullah cannot be more wrong. In 1990, the MCA “paralysis” was in fact beneficial to the Malaysian Chinese and the Malaysian nation, for it forced the Mahathir government to abandon the long-standing nation-building policy of assimilation and acceptance of the DAP’s policy of integration – resulting in “little liberalization” on policies of language, education and culture. It also led to the Vision 2020 with its goal of building a Bangsa Malaysia, transcending ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious differences – a copy of the DAP’s version of Malaysian Malaysia.

It was only when the MCA was very strong, as in 1999 general election, when the Chinese voters saved Umno and Barisan Nasional from losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority as the Malays defected from Umno with Umno candidates suffering their worst electoral setbacks, that MCA produced the weakest and most ineffecfive results – particularly in allowing the rise of Umno political hegemony!

Abdullah has said the Barisan wanted the Chinese community to be part of government.
He said: “We do not want to have a government that does not have representation of all ethnic groups in the Cabinet”.

Has Abdullah forgotten one of his great pledges when he became the Prime Minister four years ago – to be Prime Minister for all Malaysians and all races and not just for Malays?
If so, if there are no Chinese representations in government, then it must be regarded as his greatest personal failure. How can he continue to cling on as Prime Minister if he cannot lead a government with fair and equal representation from all races, including the Chinese in Malaysia?

Let me answer Abdullah’s poser to the Chinese – the Chinese want both a louder voice in Parliament as well as meaningful representation in government as the best way to ensure effective representation in Cabinet is to have a louder voice in Parliament!