My first reaction to the speech by the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek at the MCA 59th Annual General Assembly on Sunday is one of outrage that so much lies and falsehoods could be crammed into a single speech.

Just three examples of such lies and falsehoods spouted by Chua on Sunday:

1. “DAP has succeeded in convincing non-Mulsims that PAS’ hudud will reduce crime and corruption in the country. This is another big lie. Of the 11 countries that practice hudud, eight are regarded as the most corrupted and they are also recognized as unstable and unsafe countries.”

2. “UBAH is for :- U for Untuk, B for Bentuk, A for Agama and H for Hudud ala PAS. CHANGE, would mean :-C = Choose H = Hudud A = At N = Next G = General E = Election”

3. “It (DAP) will continue to mislead, give false hope to the Chinese that if the Chinese vote DAP, they are empowered to be kingmaker in the country”

Chua is desperately trying to convince himself and Malaysians that DAP is championing PAS’ hudud to the extent of arguing that it will “reduce crime and corruption” in Malaysia and turning the 13 General Election into a referendum for “hudud ala PAS”.

Chua is right. This is a “big lie”, but a big lie perpetrated by Chua himself and not by the DAP.

DAP leaders have never shied away anywhere from admitting DAP’s differences with PAS on the questions of Islamic state and hudud, and even PAS leaders have publicly admitted that a vote for PAS in the 13 General Elections is not a vote for hudud, but a vote for the Pakatan Rakyat’s common programme of upholding justice, ensuring democracy, restoring the independence and professionalism of important national institutions destroyed by UMNO/Barisan Nasional and promoting national unity among Malaysians regardless of race, religion, class or territory.

Most ridiculous of all is the lie by Chua that DAP leaders are telling the Chinese that they are the “kingmaker in the country” as this had never been the DAP stand.

Chua’s MCA presidential speech is replete with lies and dishonesty.

In asserting that of the 11 countries that practice hudud, eight are regarded as the most corrupt, did Chua pause to consider why in the past 17 years (and in particular in the past 3 ½ years of Najib premiership) Malaysia has become more and more corrupt, losing out to six Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) nations in the latest 2011 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) when sixteen years ago, Malaysia towered over all OIC countries in the TI CPI 1996 in terms of development, rule of law and transparency?

In 1996, Malaysia was ranked No. 26 out of 54 countries with a score of 5.32 – ahead of Jordan (No. 30 – score 4.89), Turkey (No. 33 – 3.54) and Egypt (No. 41 – 2.84).

Sixteen years later, in the 2011 TI CPI, Malaysia crashed to 60th placing with the lowest-ever score of 4.3 – losing out to six OIC countries and only one step ahead of Turkey, as illustrated as follows:

Qatar – No. 22 (rank) 7.2 (score)
UAE – 28 (6.8)
Bahrain- 46 (5.1)
Oman – 50 (4.8)
Kuwait – 54 (4.6)
Jordan – 56 (4.5)
Saudi Arabia – 57 (4.4)
Malaysia – 60 (4.3)
Turkey – 61 (4.2)

But this was not Chua’s most outrageous act at the MCA Conference, which must go to his defence of the MCA Wanita Deputy Minister’s claim that PAS condones the rape of non-Muslim women who do not conform to the Islamic dress code.

The initial outrage at Chua’s speech soon gave way to sadness and pity that a MCA President could stoop so low as to spout such lies and falsehoods because of the sense of desperation about prospects in the 13GE.

It is very clear MCA and UMNO leaders have reached a “devil’s compact” for each side to tell the most blatant lies and falsehoods to frighten Chinese and Malay voters respectively, as they seem to have concluded that such politics of hate and duplicity is the only way to protect and preserve UMNO/BN power in the 13GE.

UMNO leaders, especially the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who opened the MCA Annual General Assembly, do not believe the MCA lies and falsehoods, as Chua Soi Lek’s defamation of PAS and Islam for condoning rape of non-Muslims.

But they kept quiet, in the same way that MCA leaders are keeping quiet although they do not believe UMNO lies and falsehoods that DAP wants to create a Christian Malaysia, abolish the Malay Rulers and set up a Republic!

This is the “Devil’s Compact”. No wonder the recent statement by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir – “Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t.”

There can be no more truthful confession of the existence of the UMNO/MCA “Devil’s Compact” resulting in the most devilish politics in the nation’s history, utterly heedless of truth and justice, in the UMNO/BN politics of desperation to remain in power in the 13GE.