I thank the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for relaunching Kee Thuan Chye’s two-volume biography of me and volume 2 of the Chinese translation. I can still remember the bicycle trip I made from Batu Pahat to Malacca in Form One with two classmates, and during the 62-mile trip, we were discussing the hopes and aspirations of the recently held Afro-Asian Leaders Conference in Bandung.
Next year is the 70th anniversary of the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung.
How swift time flies.
We in Malaysia have engaged in nation-building for 67 years.
I was active in school and was one those who suggested that we should have class magazine in Form III.
I was a Malaysian First from school as shown by class magazine writings.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has lasted longer as Prime Minister than his three immediate predecessors thanks to greater stability and unity.
There has been mounting criticisms about the failure to keep to the reformasi promises of Pakatan Harapan.
To ensure longer-term stability and unity, there is need to give hope and confidence that the reformasi pledges were serious.
The next three years will be critical not only for the Anwar Ibrahim premiership, the Pakatan Harapan and the DAP as well as the unity government.
Let negotiate them together, not forgetting that we must continue to give hope and confidence that the reformasi promises were not empty pledges.
When I retired from front-line DAP politics, I decided that I will not comment on current Malaysian political developments for three years. I have been engrossed myself in global politics and the challenges of humanity – inter-civilisational dialogue and harmony, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and climate change.
With Malaysia joining BRICS, there is a need for Malaysians to develop a global mindset to meaningfully operate in global politics.
(Speech by veteran DAP Lim Kit Siang at the relaunching of Kee Thuan Chye’s two-volume book “Lim Kit Siang – Malaysian First” and the Chinese translation of Volume 2 in Ipoh on Friday, 20th December 2024)