I call on the voters of Port Dickson to create history twice in six months.

The first time when they made history was on May 9, 2018 when together with justice-loving Malaysians, the voters of Port Dickson with a voter turnout olf 83%, voted solidly for a peaceful and democratic change of government in Putrajaya which for the first in many years made Malaysians both inside the country and in the worldwide Diaspora, stand tall and proud to be Malaysians.

The Pakatan Rakyat candidate won with 36,225 votes with a great majority of 17,710 votes, while the PAS candidate who took part in the three-cornered contest lost his deposit, securing only 6,594 votes.

The second time when the voters of Port Dickson can make history will be on 13th October 2018, the polling date for the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election where Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the PKR/Pakatan Harapan candidate – for him to return to Parliament in readiness to be the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia after Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as agreed by the Pakatan Harapan leadership before the 14th General Election.

It is important that Anwar Ibrahim wins the Port Dickson by-election on Oct. 13 with a huge majority – as it will not only be a vote of confidence of the voters of Port Dickson in the designated eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia, but even more significant, an endorsement of the historic 14th General Election result on May 9, 2018 and the building of a New Malaysia started after the 14th General Election.

I visited Port Dickson parliamentary constituency today, covering Lukut, Pasir Panjang, Port Dickson town and now Bukit Pelandok and I found a common feature and concern among the people in Port Dickson as during my recent visit of the Malaysian Diaspora in Australia and New Zealand – covering eight Australian and New Zealand cities, namely, Perth, Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland in 12 days.

Malaysians, whether in Port Dickson or in the Malaysian Diaspora in Australia and New Zealand, are still rejoicing at the great historic change they achieved on May 9, 2018 to end the unbelievable corruption, abuses of power, repression and injustices of the old Barisan Nasional government, the full magnitude of which are only now beginning to be known.

There is still an element of wonderment as to how Malaysians could achieve such a great feat which put Malaysia atop the world map, as Malaysians became a “beacon of light” to the world to ask the world to continue to have faith in democratic governance at a time when democracy worldwide is in retreat and facing an unprecedented crisis of confidence.

The New Malaysia we are embarking on building after the 14th General Election cannot be accomplished in 100 days or six months, as it is a task and mission which will take a decade or two, as it is impossible to undo decades of corruption, abuses of power, repression and injustices in weeks or months, but will take years and even decades.

The New Malaysia is not what Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng, Mohamad Sabu on myself individually want, but what Malaysians, both inside the country and the worldwide Malaysian Diaspora worldwide, want.

But it is important that Malaysians continue to give support to the vision of a New Malaysia, and this is why the Port Dickson by-election is important, as it is a by-election for a New Malaysia.

No other candidate except for Anwar stands for a New Malaysia. We may make mistakes and even disagree with individuals proposal and measures, but we must be heading towards a New Malaysia, and not return to the Old Malaysia of Najib and UMNO/BN government which gave birth to the world’s “kleptocracy at its worst” – the 1MDB scandal – and brought Malaysia into international disrepute and odium because Malaysia was regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

The Port Dickson by-election provides the voters of Port Dickson an opportunity to vindicate the historic choice of Malaysians in the 14GE for a peaceful and democratic transition of power from UMNO/Barsian Nasional to Pakatan Harapan, and equally important, an endorsement of the continuing commitment of Pakatan Harapan Federal Government to build a New Malaysia.

The Port Dickson by-election voters must turn out in record numbers on Polling Day on Oct. 13, not only to vote for a New Malaysia, but also for a new Port Dickson to re-establish Port Dickson as one of the premier tourist destinations in Malaysia and even in South-East Asia.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the Port Dickson by-election ceramah at Taman Mayan, Bukit Pelandok on Friday, 5th October 2018 at 6 pm)