If I had set out in my political journey as a communist, anti-Malay, anti-Islam, and anti-Royalty, I would have been a life-long failure in my 58 years of political work.
I was never a communist, anti-Malay, anti-Islam, and anti-Royalty, and this is set out in two documents both more than half-a-century ago: the police statement interrogating me when I was detained in Kuala Selangor police station for the first time under the Internal Security Act in 1969 and my first speech in Parliament in February 1971.
I must thank former Inspector-General of Police, Tun Hanif Omar for getting the 1969 police document declassified when I sued him for defamation.
The majority of Malaysians are not anti-Malay, anti-Chinese, anti-Indian, anti-Kadazan or anti-Dayak, or anti-Islam, anti-Buddhism, anti-Hinduism, anti-Christianity, anti-Sikkhism, anti-Taoism.
There is no ethnic or religious animosity or hatred in the country. There are political personalities out to set race against race, religion against religion, and Malaysians must not allow these irresponsible political forces to succeed.
I fully subscribe to the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia which the nation’s founding fathers (which included the first three Prime Ministers — Tunku Abdul Rahman, Razak Hussein, and Hussein Onn), have written into the Constitution and the Rukun Negara — constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, an independent judiciary, Islam as the official religion of the country and freedom of religion for other faiths, Malay as the national language and preservation and sustenance of the use and study of other languages, good governance, public integrity with minimum corruption, a clean and honest government, meritocracy, respect for human rights, an end to the various injustices and inequalities in the country, a world-class economic, educational, health and social system, and national unity, understanding, and harmony from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural diversity.
Does Mahathir subscribe to these original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia?
The question is raised because Mahathir Mohamad recently said a multi-racial Malaysia runs afoul of the Federal Constitution, in which case his two tenure as Prime Minister of Malaysia lasting close to a quarter of a century had been a great failure, especially with regard to his launching of Vision 2020 in 1991.
I would not say that my political work had been a failure.
But would Mahathir Mohamad admit that his two terms as Prime Minister lasting to close to a quarter of a century was an utter failure, and his Vision 2020 represented the worst of his life-work?
Can Mahathir explain how he could mislead Malaysians for decades to believe that he is committed to Vision 2020 and its nine strategic objectives?
This is what Mahathir said 32 years ago:
“By the year 2020, Malaysia can be a united nation, with a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust, and resilient. “There can be no fully developed Malaysia until we have finally overcome the nine central strategic challenges that have confronted us from the moment of our birth as an independent nation. “The first of these is the challenge of establishing a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny. This must be a nation at peace with itself, territorially, and ethnically integrated, living in harmony, and full and fair partnership, made up of one ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ with political loyalty, and dedication to the nation.”
Today, in 2023, Malaysia has never been so divided and polarised, and the person who launched Vision 2020 is not doing anything to ensure the rise of “Bangsa Malaysia” with political loyalty and dedication to the nation but the very opposite — in the company of people like PAS President, Hadi Awang and new PAS member, Annuar Musa, to spread the divisive and toxic politics of race and religion based on lies, falsehoods, fake news, and hate speech.
Mahathir accused the Anwar unity government was DAP-dominated.
Was Mahathir’s second tenure as Prime Minister of Pakatan Harapan government DAP-dominated?
This is what Mahathir wrote in his book “Capturing Hope — The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia” in September 2021:
“Indeed, within months of our first year in government, there were rumours circulating that DAP Ministers, especially Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, were dominating the Government and controlling me. This was patently untrue. Like everyone else, Guan Eng listened to the views of others, and there was no way to impose his will on the Cabinet or on anyone. Guan Eng was a very senior Minister but he was also a member of the five-party Cabinet. The DAP won 42 seats at the general election and they had six Cabinet portfolios. Bersatu won 13 seats and we also had six Ministers, one of whom was the Prime Minister and another was Minister of Home Affairs. The DAP never questioned me on this division, and to say that I was under the control of the DAP was a complete lie.”
The question is why Mahathir should now resort to the “complete lie” that the Anwar unity government was DAP-dominated?
Now that Mahathir is in the same boat as the PAS President, would he enlighten Hadi that the 2018 episode where he announced at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2018 that Malaysia would ratify all UN international covenants including the International Covenant for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), had nothing to do with the DAP, although the DAP was subsequently demonised and accused of using the ICERD issue as proof that the DAP was anti-Malay, anti-Islam, and anti-Royalty?
Mahathir owes a duty to all Malaysians whether he, Mahathir, has abandoned belief in Vision 2020 and its nine strategic challenges.
(Media Statement by DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang in Penang on Saturday, 8th July 2023)