by Lim Guan Eng

(Melaka, Saturday): Malaysia will never qualify for the World Cup and there will be no good governance for development and integrity when BN MPs have no voice of conscience, opposes for the sake of opposing and “close one eye’ towards corruption? We watch South Korea play in the World Cup and wonder why we can not qualify when South Korean football was the same standards as Malaysia in the 1970s and 80s.

The difference then and now is that Malaysians forgot to develop a culture of excellence and instead chose the NEP with all its attendants defects, flaws, deficiencies and failings. Malaysia has consistently suffered the worst income disparity between the rich and poor in South East Asia where the richest 10% in Malaysia controls 38.4% of our economic income as compared to our poorest 10% controlling only 1.7%. We can be proud of reducing absolute poverty levels but we should be equally ashamed that Malaysians have the most unfair distribution of wealth in South-East Asia.

The NEP has set Malaysia back and the fixation of 30% equity share for bumis will not allow Vision 2020 of Malaysia becoming a developed nation by 2020 top succeed. Instead success and political morality is not based on effort or leadership by example but on race and special privileges.

This can be seen by the hypocrisy and double-standards of BN MPs particularly the recent expose of Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said bin Yusof’s in Parliament of certain top Melaka Customs officials had sold confiscated luxury cars cheaply to their “friends” in the palaces and other government departments. Modh Said claimed that Melaka Customs officials had abused their power by selling the cars meant for open auction to their royalty friends in return for Datukships.

What is sad and irresponsible of Datuk Mohd Said is his refusal to make a report against the Anti-Corruption Agency(ACA) of his allegations even though he claims he has proof of such allegations. Of course Datuk Mohd Said can claim to be consistent in that he is now “closing one eye” to corruption in Customs after having earlier asked Melaka Customs Department to “close one eye” after Customs seized a consignment of timber imported by his company.

There is no use of BN MPs speaking up in Parliament on building new Chinese primary schools or defending non-Muslim rights in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution by not daring to support opposition motions. Such dishonesty is unprincipled and would only set back development of democracy and economic prosperity.

But BN MPs practices double-standards in talking about integrity but yet condone those who abuse their powers or involved in corrupt activities. The only BN with any integrity and moral authority is Public Accounts Committee Chairman and Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad who resigned as as BBC Chairman following his support of a Parliamentary motion by Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang. Kit Siang had moved a motion to refer the front-page New Straits Times report of Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said bin Yusof asking Customs ‘to close one eye” to the Committee of Privileges.

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Nazri Aziz said that BN MPs have no voice of conscience and must oppose even any opposition motions even though it is good for the country. Clearly it is not opposition parties that oppose for the sake of opposing but BN MPs.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi failure to entrench accountability and transparency by making the ACA independent and accountable only to Parliament with powers to initiate prosecutions and the establishment of the Independent Complaints and Police Misconduct Commission to curb police abuses questions his commitment towards integrity. Such double-standards are observed in Melaka Chief Minister.

Chinese voters who supported and helped BN win Kota Melaka parliamentary seat for the first time in 35 years must feel deeply disillusioned by Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam’s opposition to building new Chinese primary schools; demand for action against employers seeking Mandarin-speaking staff; order to close down all pig farms in Melaka, action to tear down and stop the 70 year old business of a coffee-shop beside Melaka River without any compensation, exorbitant increase of quit rent and unfair issuance of summons against lorry drivers and eviction from town areas. And who becomes richer whilst such injustice is going on? Even some Malays have suffered from giving absolute power to BN such as the Malay fishermen in Duyong who expressed unhappiness at the State Secretary for cheating them.

DAP is powerless to fight after our defeats in the last general elections in Melaka and BN winning 91% or 199 out of 219 Parliamentary seats. Apart from inflation and electricity tariff hikes the government has continued with the NEP which has benefited the few at the expense of Malaysians. Why are Petronas’ profits of RM 70.2 billion last year not enjoyed by the people but by the rich as shown by Petronas giving gas subsidies last year to the rich Independent Power Producers of RM 6.5 billion much more than to Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s RM 5 billion?

DAP alone can not succeed in defending the people’s rights. The people must participate and stand together with the DAP. Even when DAP offered free legal service, the people dared not fight for their rights as shown by the coffee-shop case and those opposing the quit rent increase.

DAP urges the people to have the courage to stand up and step forward because rights are never freely given by the government but will only be enjoyed by those who earn it. Then not only will the people be free and prosperous and the country democratic but we have a chance to see Malaysia playing in the World Cup.

(01/07/2006)