Press Statement by Lim Guan Eng in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday, 13^th February 2008: 

DAP to test Information Ministry’s claims of fair treatment and reporting the truth by sending DAP’s election video clip to Angkasapuri and all TV stations for broadcast 

DAP strongly condemns the dishonest tactics employed by the Information Ministry in disseminating lies linking DAP leaders to street violence in television broadcasts, which has been screened daily for weeks before the evening news. DAP demands an immediate end to such false broadcasts when leaders have never been charged for being involved in violent activities.

DAP have always conducted our campaign for democracy, equal opportunity, respect for rule of law with an independent judiciary, shared prosperity, safer society and social-economic justice in a peaceful manner. How dangerous is the state of democracy in Malaysia can be seen by UMNO’s political dominance until a simple victory by BN is not enough? Only an absolute victory by BN is considered acceptable despite the historical fact that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Such dishonest tactics harks back to classical tactics of Hitler’s Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels, who said that if you tell a lie, it must be a big lie and if repeated a thousand times lies will become the truth. Clearly BN is not worried about losing power or winning a two-thirds majority in the coming general elections. What BN is concerned about is whether they can repeat the 91% parliamentary mandate secured during the last general elections when BN won 199 out of the 219 seats.

To ensure a repeat of such landslide victories, BN is prepared to win dirty openly. Not satisfied with destroying the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission (EC) by manipulating and controlling the Chair of the EC, the BN has already imposed a total news blackout on opposition news on TV stations and spreading lies.

And yet Informaion Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin claims that the government is fair and makes truthful reporting. DAP will test Information Ministry’s claims of fair treatment and reporting the truth by sending DAP’s election video clip to Angkasapuri and all TV stations for broadcasts.

No wonder BN refuses to sanction independent foreign observers to monitor our general elections in fear of being criticized for such undemocratic practices that do not permit free, fair and clean elections. The failure of the EC to stop such lies and disinformation on TV by BN merely reaffirms the role of EC as an agent of BN to assist in its victories. Even departmental stores like Mydin are selling only BN paraphernalia openly without any action taken by EC.

Without a level-playing field, DAP expects the BN-controlled media to blow up insignificant negative news about the DAP and downplay the achievements or positive news favourable to DAP. DAP can not stop such biasedness and discriminatory treatment but firmly states our readiness to take further action against scandalous lies against DAP and its leaders.

At the last Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on 4 February 2008, the CEC endorsed a 5-man General Election Select committee headed by DAP Secretary-General to decide on all matters relating to general elections, including seat negotiations with PKR and election candidates. The other members are Chairman Sdr Karpal Singh, Deputy Chair Sdr Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Sdr Lim Kit Siang and Vice-Chair Sdr M. Kulasegaran. DAP leaders and members are advised to exercise discipline by referring to all discussions internally to avoid being exploited and used by the BN-controlled media to the detriment of the party.

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* Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General