DAP will field more youths and women as parliamentary and state assembly candidates in the 14th General Election and I look forward to Yeo Bee Yin and Hannah Yeoh as among the new DAP MPs in the new Parliament.
I asked just now how many are older than me, and two persons identified themselves by a show of hands.
Three of us are the oldest in this gathering, but although we are septuagenarians or octogenarians (and Tun Mahathir is a nonagenarian, who will be 93 years old in another four months’ time), Malaysians in their seventies, eighties and even nineties, just like new generation of young Malaysians whether in their teens, twenties or thirties, have a Malaysian Dream we want to fulfill – not for the sake of ourselves as far as the septuagenarians, octogenarians and nonagenarians are concerned, but for our children and children’s children and for the country.
We all want Malaysia to be more united, harmonious, tolerant, developed, progressive, prosperous and democratic, a country where all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, politics or class can feel proud of the country because it is a top world-class nation in every field of human endeavor.
But this is not the case, for after six decades of nation building, Malaysia has failed Malaysians and we have fallen down the ladder of nations in human excellence, achievements and accomplishments.
We have lost our way in the past six decades with countries more economically, educationally and politically backward than Malaysia having overtaken us on all fronts of human endeavor, becoming not only richer and more developed and prosperous, but less corrupt and more democratic and more respectful of the principles of good governance and the rule of law.
The 14th General Election will be the occasion for Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, politics or age to set things right in the country by re-setting nation-building policies and directions and by returning to the fundamental principles of harmony, tolerance, moderation and checks-and-balance to make Malaysia a top world-class nation in every field of human endeavor instead of becoming a global kleptocracy scorned and mocked by other nations!
(Speech at the DAP kopitiam ceramah at Stulang, Johor Baru on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 1 pm)