Those who had plotted to see the end of Pakatan Harapan government by the 62nd National Day on August 31, 2019 are very disappointed that they had failed in their stratagem.
They are now reduced to calling on so-called “insurbordinate ministers” to quit or be axed.
They do not realise that the four parties in the Pakatan Harapan had come together despite all odds and different histories in the great patriotic mission to Save Malaysia from becoming a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state, and that the decision of the Malaysian electorate in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 – well nigh a political miracle – has given the country a chance to reset nation-building policies to become a New Malaysia which is a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity.
This is no easy task.
The four parties will be guided by the five pillar-promises of the Pakatan Harapan Manifesto in the 14th General Election to build a New Malaysia so that the country can take its place among the top-ranking countries in the world in human endeavour and excellence, especially as Malaysia is the confluence of the four great civilizations in the world – Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western.
The five pillar-promises of Pakatan Harapan for a New Malaysia are:
· Reduce the people’s burden. · Institutional and political reforms. · Spur sustainable and equitable economic growth. · Return Sabah and Sarawak to the status accorded in Malaysia Agreement 1963; and · Create a Malaysia that is inclusive, moderate and respected globally.
All Pakatan Harapan leaders have agreed that however difficult it is to fulfil all the pledges of these five pillar-promises, we must do our utmost to implement them.
The Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council has set up a high-powered committee to review the PH Manifesto, and if there are specific pledges which cannot be implemented, we must be frank with the people to identify them and to explain why this could not be done.
A massive amount of work awaits to be done in every field to achieve a New Malaysia – nation-building, political, economic, educational and socio-cultural, but the resetting of nation building policies is no ordinary or easy work and could not be achieved overnight or even be completed in one general election cycle.
What is important is that Pakatan Harapan government must be inexorably set in the trajectory of a New Malaysia as envisioned by the five pillar-promises to develop a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity.
There are many mine-fields which could destroy the objective of a New Malaysia.
Those who are opposed to “Save Malaysia” mission do not see any need for Malaysia to be saved and for the distortions, abuses of power and injustices of the past six decades to be rectified.
They will do their utmost to ensure the failure of the “Save Malaysia” mission, plotting the implosion and disintegration of Pakatan Harapan, even if the country returns to the trajectory of a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state.
They peddle lies, falsehoods, fake news; incite suspicion, doubt, distrust, fear and hatred; pit race against race, religion against religion to destroy the “Save Malaysia” mission.
They create fear and distrust among each race and religion that the other races and religions are their greatest threats and enemies resulting in Malaysians living in fear in their separate ethnic enclaves, when Malaysians should rise above these baseless fears and come out of their separate enclaves to appreciate each other’s ethnic and cultural qualities and virtues.
As a result, I have achieved a status unheard-of for any Malaysian – feared and condemned by some Malays for being a Chinese threat to Malay rights and ethnicity as well as feared and condemned by some Chinese for betraying Chinese rights, language and culture.
Is it possible for any one person to assume such multiple and contradictory roles – on the one hand, out to eradicate Malay rights, culture and ethnicity on behalf of the Chinese, and on the other hand, out to betray Chinese language, education and culture allegedly at the behest of Malay interests.
The Cabinet decision on the Jawi controversy is a good example.
At one end of the spectrum is the UMNO Vice President, Khaled Nordin who said that the latest Cabinet decision on the Jawi controversy shows that DAP is the true power behind the Pakatan Harapan government.
At the other end of the spectrum, the DAP is regarded as “having gone from hero to zero in the eyes of the Chinese base” and having betrayed the voters and I have become a “running dog” in betraying the rights and future of Chinese Malaysians.
Which version is right?
It is not possible for both allegations to be right although both allegations could be wrong – and there is no doubt that in this case, both such allegations are wrong.
Malaysia will fail as a New Malaysia which is a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity if we replace a “win-win” formula of nation-building with a zero-sum mentality.
Whether it is Jawi or Zakir Naik controversy, it is a legacy of the previous government.
As I said yesterday, the final policy decision on Jawi in Std. IV, V and VI Chinese and Tamil primary school Bahasa Malaysia revised textbooks were decided at a meeting of the Jawatankuasa Perancang Pendikan on 21st Sept. 2015, which was chaired by the then Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and attended by the two Deputy Education Ministers, Datuk Chong Sin Woon (MCA) and P. Kamalanathan (MIC).
In the case of Zakir Naik, his permanent resident status was given by the previous government.
On 18th April 2017, the then Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi told the press that Zakir Niak had been holding permanent resident status since about five years ago.
Malaysians who want a New Malaysia as a world top-class nation must have the perseverance, stamina and commitment to take the long march to this objective, and not to be influenced by who want this great mission to fail.
The latest Bank Negara announcement that the Malaysian economy has recorded a strong growth of 4.9% for the second quarter of 2019 (2Q19), supported by higher household spending and private investment, is significant for three reasons:
1. Malaysia’s 4.9% GDP growth in 2nd quarter of 2019 exceeded the expectation of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg earlier this year, and is the strongest economic expansion of the country since early 2018.
2. Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world with 2Q 2019 growth higher than 1Q 2019.
3. Evidence that Malaysia is still capable of world-class performance and proof that the prophets of doom are wrong at a time when there is increasing concern that there could be a global recession.
Let Malaysians have the confidence to come out of their respective racial and religious enclaves to rise above the fears and imaginary demons to unite their resources and talents to achieve a New Malaysia to take its proper place as one of the top world-class nations within a decade or two.
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 17th August 2019)