I have been influenced by two personalities.
One was the 12th century general, Yue Fei, whose mother tattooed on his back the four words, jing zhong bao guo (serve the country loyally) — of course, the “guo” here is Malaysia, as we are all Malaysians.
The second is the Southern Song poet and politician, Wen Tianxiang who penned the immortal words:
人生自古誰無死
留取丹心照汗青。
(Humans, since antiquity, have all found death;
Leave our red hearts to shrine in the writ of history.)
As the Huazong President, T.C. Goh said just now, there will be six state polls in Malaysia soon, and I call on all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, to perform their national duty to strengthen political stability and national unity in plural Malaysia so that Malaysia can become more united, progressive and prosperous with good governance and be world champions again.
Malaysia want to have the best schools, universities, hospitals, and the best economic and social systems in the world.
As loyal citizens in Malaysia, we do not want Malaysia to end up as a divided, failed, and corrupt state in the coming decades.
This is the greatest challenge for Malaysians inside the country.
In the international arena, the greatest challenge is to create an international order which promotes understanding, peace, and prosperity, and that the tense relations between China and the United States does not end up in war.
I believe that the 50 million ethnic Chinese outside China who formed the Chinese Diaspora, but who have become citizens of their respective countries of domicile, can contribute in the creation of this international order.
Let the Chinese in Malaysia, who have become Malaysian citizens, play their role in this national and international challenges to promote a more united, progressive, just, and prosperous Malaysia and the world.
(Speech by DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang at the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) dinner in honour of Tan Sris conferred by the Yang di Pertuan Agong in Huazong, Serdamg on Thursday, 29th June 2023 at 9 pm)
