Challenge to Muhyiddin on raising the May 13 spectre


I challenge the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to prove he is a responsible political leader and Malaysian nationalist when raising the spectre of May 13 wanting to prevent any recurrence and not indulging in the low- class, irresponsible, unscrupulous and contemptible double politics of fear and race to preserve UMNO/Barisan Nasional in power at all costs in the next general election.

It has been reported that at a national youth conference held in Parliament yesterday, Muhyiddin called on the young generation to be united in order to ensure the country remains stable and peaceful and to avoid a repeat of the May 13, 1969 tragedy.

Muhyiddin was quoted as declaring at the conference: “We don’t want May 13 repeated.”

On behalf of DAP and Pakatan Rakyat, let me officially respond by declaring that we in DAP and Pakatan Rakyat also do not want a repeat of the May 13 tragedy and we pledge to do all we can to prevent any such recurrence.

DAP and Pakatan Rakyat offer to co-operate and work closely with UMNO and Barisan Nasional to ensure that there will be no repeat of May 13 in the next general election, and Malaysians are entitled to ask how there could be a repeat of the May 13 tragedy if both political coalitions – Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat – sincerely pledge to work together in the national interest to prevent any such recurrence?

I confess I am concerned at the way Muhyiddin raised the spectre of May 13, which had been used in the past decades to create fear among voters as part of the scare tactics to force voters to vote for UMNO and BN, as it raises the question whether the DPM was giving an assurance that there would be no May 13 recurrence or he was subtly threatening that there could be another May 13 if UMNO loses power!

Could there be another May 13 in the next general election? My answer would be a strong NO.

Without going into the debate as to who should be held responsible for the May 13 tragedy in 1969 (and there are diametrically conflicting accounts and versions of who should be held responsible and this is why right from the beginning after the May 13 riots, DAP and I had called for an independent Royal Commission of Inquiry into its causes) the circumstances today are completely different from those prevailing 43 years ago in 1969.

The most important difference between 1969 and the 13th general election is the emergence of a multiracial multireligious naional coalition represented throughout the country to peacefully and democratically challenge UMNO/BN’s hold to power in Putrajaya -as the Pakatan Rakyat coalition of PKR, PAS and DAP is a Malaysian coalition of all races, religions and regions in Malaysia!

Only the most irrespnsible, anti-national and treacherous elements in our country can try to distort and misinterpret a PAkatan Rakyat victory in the 13GE as victory of one race against another, as to justify wild thoughts tinkering with the idea of anther May 13, when any victory for Pakatan Rakyat will be a Malaysian victory representing all races.

Is Muhyiddin sincere when he declared “We don’t want May 13 repeated”.

If so, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should break his silence and answer the question I had posed to him many times in the past three years – whether he would declare clearly and unequivocally that he would accept the verdict of the people in the 13GE, including the election of a Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya to replace the Barisan Nasional and that he would personally ensure and facilitate a peaceful transition of federal power for the first time in the nation’s history, to tell the world that Malaysia has becoome a normal democracy and even en route to become, in Najib’s own words, “the best demoracy in the world”!

[Speech at the DAP Inanam Sepanggar ceramah on Friday July 20, 2012 at 9pm]

  1. #1 by Winston on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 11:57 am

    This sort of threats is old hat.
    Judging by the problems that these rascals have been creating for the PR and Malaysians as well, they are very upset that their gravy train will be overturned in the next GE.
    Not only that, they will have to answer for their misdeeds.
    So, any untoward incidents will certainly be created by them.
    They must be shitting bullets.

  2. #2 by dagen wanna "ABU" on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 11:59 am

    Umno is completely empty of idea. Everything that comes out of umno’s mouth really is nothing more than a remake of those noises its rear orifice makes.

    And all actions undertaken by umno whether to boost its own image and credibility or to counter pakatan are almost certain (I say 99%) to backfire on umno.

    In short, umno is already a dead duck. Just kick it come GE13.

    ABU!

  3. #3 by yhsiew on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 12:06 pm

    A selfish Muhyiddin is worried that he cannot become the next PM. Hence he declared “We don’t want May 13 repeated” to frighten voters to support Umno/BN.

    It is sad that many Umno/BN leaders have integrity problems.

  4. #4 by drngsc on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 12:39 pm

    Let them be desperate and do things desperados do. We have to remain steadfast, NOT arrogant. Keeping doing our work. Keep talking to people. When we go back to our hometown and villages, please bring back the VCDs, you tubes, all the messages that we have been keeping. The real version of Bersih 3.0. At every opportunity back home, invite friends to buka puasa, and speak to them. Inform them of the latest developments.
    Let us all do our part.

    We need to change the tenant at Putrajaya. GE 13 is coming. Ramadan is here. Hari Raya is coming. If there are still no significant electoral reforms, first to Ramadan, then to Hari Raya, then to Bersih 4.0, then to GE 13, then to Putrajaya. Let us all work hard during Ramadan / Raya. The final push before GE 13.

    Change we must. Change we can. Change we will.

  5. #5 by undertaker888 on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 1:08 pm

    Whether may13 or not, we just want umno and bn out. Out for good. Probably PR can warn these low class lizards on what happened to gadafi, Ben Ali, Mubarak, saddam. Seems like rats like hiding in holes.

  6. #6 by sheriff singh on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 1:08 pm

    Just imagine this man becoming our Prime Minister. Or any other UMNO man. Things don’t look bright does it?

    What about somebody else from Pakatan? Will things become brighter?

  7. #7 by sheriff singh on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 1:38 pm

    Once again I say: Once PR takes over, it must immediately form a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the May 13 incident and flush out all the ghosts. Let the truth be told so that we call all have closures and move on.

  8. #8 by yhsiew on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 1:45 pm

    Muhyiddin should wait patiently for his PM post and not use scare tactics to expedite his ambition.

  9. #9 by Bigjoe on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 2:15 pm

    I fully agree that the current UMNO/BN theme of May 13 is scare-mongering for votes. However, I am willing to bet that Muhiyiddin or anyone else, including Mahathir has the real substance to pull of the same lies in 1969 today to hold on to power.

    The situation is different today. Firstly, the opposition is no longer mono-race or even mono-ideology. The same lies told in 1969 would stand up for too long with the opposition partners willing to stand up for each other..

    Secondly, there is too many people who are invested in peace – no way UMNO/BN today would have the stomach to withstand the pressures for a prolong conflict of flimsy lies. The mediocrity of their current leaders and the increasing irrelevancy of their ideological leader Mahathir makes such a much longer fight just not in the cards for them..

    If they try and cause horrific harm, I believe the rest of Malaysian will still stand tall and UMNO/BN will be destroyed..

  10. #10 by Bigjoe on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 2:19 pm

    I say to Muhiyiddin and/or like-mindeds – Go Ahead, Make my day..

  11. #11 by monsterball on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 2:32 pm

    Berlin wall has fallen decades ago.
    China is a super rich country with all living under the laws…
    “you get what you work for”….no more equality communistic stuff.
    It’s Socialism with no nonsense laws.
    It’s protecting their people to be cultured and not copy the Western ways of living.
    Anw what is Malaysia??
    UMNO b plan to start all over again….starting with riots..fights..houses and cars burning.
    The remake of 1969 May 13th incident.
    It’s one of their smart idea how to govern forever.

  12. #12 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 4:52 pm

    What challenge?….Moooo……………..

  13. #13 by jus legitimum on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 5:26 pm

    Everybody in the street laments on the messy situation the country is in now.Corruption,climbing crime rate and the poignant sense of insecurity,economic stagnation,traffic congestion and parking woes,declining education standard,racial polarisation and a host of other pertinent social and economic problems.People now are very angry indeed.They just wait for a big change and a solution to all these problems.

  14. #14 by Loh on Saturday, 21 July 2012 - 8:29 pm

    ///We don t want May 13 repeated the deputy prime minister had said.///–Malaysian Insider

    That is quite different from what UMNO delegates attending the past UMNO General Assembly declared. Did Muhyiddin mean it to say that he did not want it if BN retains power, and would do it otherwise?

    Malaysia was never ripe for May 13 but it happened because Harun Idris wanted to make sure that he retained the MB post for Selangor. Tun Razak knew all along about the plan but he did not stopped Harun Idris until it was too late. Of course May 13 was an convenient excuse to blame on Tunku’s administration. Tun Razak justified Tunku’s failure with the NEP which he said would be for a limited duration of 20 years; just like Article 153 which was for 15 years and subject to review.

    May 13 was the singular achievement of UMNO to relegate other political parties of the original Alliance to be just running dogs for UMNO. NEP facilitated the dictator of the day to enrich whoever he wanted to by negotiated contracts instead of public tenders of government procurement. When the condition that the beneficiaries are Malays one would have thought that only deserving Malays are among the potential beneficiaries. Unfortunately, what was meant for Malays have been hijacked by constitutional Malays. Since they have no sense of pride, to the race they adopt for opportunistic intend, they want the status quo remain, quite unlike the late Tun Dr Ismail who cared for the pride of the Malay race. Indeed since any Muslims now are potential Malays, where are the true Malays?

    May 13 and NEP has made this country turned back the clock in social development. Income disparity among Malays is higher than it is among all Malaysians. If May 13 should ever recur, it would be a class struggle between the ordinary working people and UMNOputras.

  15. #15 by Loh on Sunday, 22 July 2012 - 10:04 am

    According to Tan Sri Ahmad Abdullah, the deputy Minister who said he was with Tun Razak on the afternoon of May 13 1969, Razak called Harun Idris to disperse the crowd at his residence after he had received phone calls from Lim Chong Eu and Tan Chee Khoon that the opposition would not contest the position of MB for Selangor. Harun called back later to say that it was too late as the mayhem had been launched.

    That revelation tells the true cause of May 13. The government of the day wanted to blame the communists. They could do it at no costs. But when they blame it on Malays who were said to have been envious of the economic success of non-Malays, and thus new economic policy was launched, that is said at the expense of Malays.

    If it was true that Malays would go to the extent of causing May 13 just because non-Malays were wealthy, then it reflects on the characteristics and the culture of Malays. What sort of characteristic would one attribute to a person who would be jealous of others’ success, and to cause them harm just because they are successful? One would be shy to be attributed that characteristics, and how could person who loves himself accept such aspersion cast on him? How can a person who loves his race if his community is said to have those negative characteristics? But the leader of the Malay community introduced government policies which just confirmed that Malays harbour those characteristics. Well, Tun Razak might think that if NEP was for 20 years, there was a limit of time for bearing that ugly stigma. But Mamakthir chose to have NEP continued, for reasons we know well. It shows that he was not bothered about the bad name the Malay community had to bear. Well Mamakthir knew in his heart that he was not a Malay, and he called himself Malay as a member to a Malay club. That explained why he registered himself as Indian while studying medicine in Singapore. Mamakthir claims that he is not a racist but he is worse; he is a racial opportunist who utilized race as an issue to create trouble and to fish in trouble water. He is now at it again, this time he wants to grab the position of PMship for his son.

  16. #16 by sotong on Sunday, 22 July 2012 - 12:21 pm

    After decades of affirmative and discrminative policies and millions of non Malays citizens migrated overseas in search of opportunities and the government bring up potential 513 if not elected???

    This threat of potential riots is totally unacceptable and irresponsibility. Only people of no decency and moral would continue to resort to this threat.

  17. #17 by Winston on Sunday, 22 July 2012 - 1:42 pm

    #14 by sotong
    Sotong, these UMNO/BN blackguards are extortionists.
    Exactly like those in the secret societies.
    They think that they can take whatever they like of the taxpayers’ money.
    In fact, the police, if they have any integrity at all, will nab all of them and have them tried and put in jail.
    Just like common criminals.
    But unsurprisingly, they provide protection to them instead of the public who have to face other criminals as well on a daily basis.
    That’s the reality in this country.

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