Tonight, I am pleased to announce another Impian Malaysia project, Impian Kedah/Perlis, following in the footsteps of Impian Sabah, Impian Sarawak and Impian Kelantan.

The Impian Kedah/Perlis project will be headed by Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Shaffee who is the Kedah Chairman of the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) and other members of Impian Kedah/Perlis are Dr. Tan Poh Teng, Nurul Shifa and Abdul Manan.

DAP is launching Impian Kedah/Perlis as part of Impian Malaysia to promote an inclusive vision to rally all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or class to unite on a common agenda of Malaysian unity, justice and prosperity.

Impian Kedah/Perlis, like Impian Kelantan, is born out of the two convictions: Firstly, Malaysia cannot be progressive and prosperous if Kedah and Perlis continue to be poor and backward in infrastructure development.

Secondly, that the people and states of Kedah and Perlis are entitled to the right to development compared to other states and not to be relegated as Malaysia’s poorest state.

Together with National Laureatee, Pak Samad, I was in Kampung Pasir Tumboh in Gua Musang, Kelantan yesterday to launch the completion of a project to repair or build 60 houses for Kampung Pasir Tumboh.

I believe all of us in Malaysia, regardless of race, religion or region, share a common dream, to make plural Malaysia a model for the world as a show-case of peaceful, tolerant, progressive and successive nation-building, where there is unity, justice and prosperity for all Malaysians.

Seven years ago, Malaysians were fired up a common bond and vision in their support of Pakatan Rakyat’s Common Policy Framework to create an united, just and prosperous nation where we can assure to our children and children’s children a better future as Malaysians.

Unfortunately, in the past few years, Malaysia has lost its way and direction, coming under unprecedented stress and strain, both vertical and horizontal.
Never before have racial and religious polarization been so bad in the nation’s history, caused by irresponsible, cynical and opportunistic exploitation of the politics of race and religion.

But for the first time, Malaysia is not only threatened by centrifugal forces of race and religion, the very existence of Malaysia is being threatened by reckless disregard of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement which formed the basis of Malaysia with the federation of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak.

Malaysia is facing very troubled times, especially with the two political coalitions, the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, undergoing turmoil and chaos.

Will the UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition survive the next general elections? Tun Mahathir does not think so and this is the reason he has given as to why he wants Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down as Prime Minister – to save UMNO not so much to save Malaysia.

Will there be a Pakatan Rakyat in the next general elections?

We must learn from the lessons of the past, for instance why Pakatan Rakyat lost the Kedah State Government in the 2013 general elections, where Pakatan Rakyat lost four parliamentary and seven state assembly seats as well as the Kedah state government.

Before the 13th General Elections, I had spoken to the PAS national leaders about the need for change in Kedah or PR runs the risk of losing the Kedah state government.

Unfortunately, the PAS national leadership was not prepared to listen to DAP advice, as it was very confident about PAS and PR chances in Kedah in the 13th General Elections.

Just as the PAS leadership failed to learn from the lessons of the 2004 General Election, where PAS lost the Terengganu State Government after one term in power, the Kedah state government was lost in the 2013 General Election.

With the PAS Muktamar resolution where PAS severed relations with DAP, and the inability of Pakatan Rakyat to function as an effective unit in the past year, existing only in name but not in fact ( the reason why the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council could not function at all with the multiple breaches of the PR Common Policy Framework and the consensus operational principle that no political leader or party could exercise a veto power over the others), Pakatan Rakyat has come to the end of the road.

Are the hopes of Malaysians, which represent the majority of voters in the 13th general election, for political change still relevant and alive in the next general election?

I believe so. The greatest challenge facing DAP and all political forces which want political change to take place in the 14GE is to rekindle the people’s hopes that political change in the next general election is still within reach, even if there is no Pakatan Rakyat.

The time has therefore come for a realignment of political forces in Malaysia to keep alive the hopes of Malaysians in the 13th General Election for political change in the 14th General Election and for a new government in Putrajaya on an agenda for “Malaysian unity, justice and prosperity”.