Tonight’s event is a historic event in Sarawak, even more so as we want it to achieve “history to history” to mark Pakatan Harapan making history in the 14GE when we achieved federal power in Putrajaya to making history in the 12GE in Sarawak to control Petrajaya and form the Sarawak State Government in the 12th Sarawak State General Election.
In the 12th Sarawak State General Election which must be held by mid-year of 2021, Pakatan Harapan must convince Sarawakian voters to join in the venture to create a New Sarawak in tandem with the Federal promise to build a New Malaysia.
Last Friday, at the Malaysian Economic Symposium in Parliament which was co-organised by the Parliamentary Caucus on Reform and Governance, the Backbenchers’ Club and the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, I said that 444 days after the historic peaceful and democratic change of government in Putrajaya on May 9, 2018 – the first time in six decades – it is time for a major review of Pakatan Harapan Manifesto and promise of a New Malaysia.
We have made the crucial and critical shift in the 14th General Election from the trajectory of a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state and headed in a new direction, resetting nation-building policies to build a New Malaysia of unity, excellence, justice, freedom and integrity to Malaysia to become a top world-class nation.
But there is no guarantee of success that we can inexorably reach the goal of a New Malaysia, for this is work of a decade or two and we can always be hijacked and the nation-building direction diverted along the way.
There is no way that a New Malaysia can be achieved by 2023 in one general election cycle.
I cannot overemphasise that the mission for a New Malaysia can be blocked, diverted or sabotaged before its accomplishment For instance, if Pakatan Harapan loses the 15th General Election, then its kaput for New Malaysia and Malaysia as a top world-class nation.
What we are attempting is not a “revolution” where we can chop the heads of those in the old regime and build a new administration with the “revolutionaries”.
This is not the way of democracy, where there is a clear distinction between the political leadership and the government administration, requiring the new government to bring along the old administration to effect the transition, reforms and changes in the country.
To use another analogy, we are trying to scale the mountain of a New Malaysia, whether Mount Murud, the highest mountain in Sarawak, or Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Malaysia, or even Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, but we want to reach the top of the mountain of a New Malaysia, to become a top world-class nation of unity, excellence, freedom, justice and integrity while the advocates of “klepto-theocracy” want Malaysia to slide down the slippery slope to the ravine of a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state.
Those opposed to a New Malaysia had earlier nursed illusions that the four-party coalition in Pakatan Harapan will disintegrate or implode in a matter of months, and when the first anniversary of the PH government passed without mishap, the time-span was increased to a half-term – but the latest indication is that the these prophets of doom for Pakatan Harapan have come to accept that the Pakatan Harapan government is likely to serve its full term and the attention has shifted to how best to exploit the internal PH contradictions and divisions.
Malaysia will head back to a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state if the coalition of klepto-theocracy – which strives on the misuse of Islam to peddle lies, falsehoods, distrust, suspicion, hatred and which supports thievery and corruption – gains the upper-hand in the Malaysian landscape.
We have made a good start in the last 14 months to build a New Malaysia where Malaysia can become a top world-class nation in every field of human endeavour but we must acknowledge widespread disappointment and disillusionment of the people that nothing much has changed or that more reforms could have been instituted.
Let us be frank with the people and admit if we have promised the impossible for I believe Malaysians will appreciate our frankness with their support and confidence largely intact.
I believe Malaysians want to share in the scaling of the mountain of a New Malaysia instead sliding down the slippery slope to the ravine of a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state.
I will give one example tonight. One of our objectives is to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity in the world.
By this, I mean Malaysia must be able to occupy the top 30 places in the annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) instead of oscillating between No. 50 to No. 62 under the premiership of Datuk Seri Najib
Razak.
Malaysia will not be able to improve on its TI CPI ranking to within the first 30 nations by the next general election in 2023 but I expect annual improvements in both the TI ranking and score every year leading to the target of Malaysia in the top 30 bracket and hopefully by before the 16th General Election in 2028.
I may not be around to see Malaysia achieve this goal of Malaysia being ranked within the top 30 nations in TI CPI, but this is a goal worth struggling for and achieving – and will be a hallmark of the New Malaysia we want to build.
Malaysia is set for a sea-change in the battle against corruption under Pakatan Harapan government, which will be impossible under a government which had previously brought Malaysia to the international infamy, ignominy and iniquity of a global kleptocracy because of the international 1MDB scandal.
Our challenge is to invite the people to continue to build a New Malaysia and a New Sarawak and to join us in this sacred mission scale the mountain of a New Malaysia and a New Sarawak – instead of ending up in the ravine of a failed, rogue and kleptocratic Sarawak and Malaysia.
Let us invite all Sarawakians and Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, to join in this great venture to scale the mountain of a New Malaysia and a New Sarawak of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity so that we do not fall back down the slippery slope to the ravine of a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state and mortgage the future of generations to come.
(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the Sarawak Pakatan Harapan Dinner in Kuching on Sunday, 28th July 2019 at 9 pm)