Media Statement (3) by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, 24^th April 2010: 

The more than one million MCA members should openly vote against MCA and BN parliamentary and state assembly candidates in next general elections as they cannot hold their heads high, in pride and honour, as a result of the irresponsible politics of top MCA and Umno leaders

The more than one million MCA members should openly vote against MCA and BN parliamentary and state assembly candidates in next general elections as they cannot hold their heads high, in pride and honour, as a result of the irresponsible politics of top MCA and Umno leaders.

Just two examples from the recent Parliamentary meeting suffice to demonstrate why the acts of omission and commission by MCA Ministers have made it impossible for the more than a million MCA members to stand tall among the people.

First, the tabling of the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on Monday to impose many arbitrary and oppressive measures, like the more than three-fold increase of compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000.

Because of public outrage at the oppressive amendments and the impending Hulu Selangor by-election on Sunday, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz quickly withdrew the Bill.

This creates a double first – first time a Bill was withdrawn in super-quick time of 48 hours, which shows that the Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat had been most irresponsible and negligent in not giving proper consideration and care in drafting the amendments.

It is also the first time that a Bill by a MCA Minister – Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat – was openly overruled by an Umno Minister – Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz – even without a Cabinet meeting.

It would appear that Nazri has become a Super Minister, with power to overrule other Ministers or at least MCA Ministers, as in the case of the withdrawal of the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill, without having to refer to the Cabinet – all because of failures and shortcomings of a MCA Minister.

Tee Keat should explain why he had been so irresponsible and negligent in allowing so defective and objectionable Transport Amendment Bill to be tabled in Parliament, outraging everyone to the extent that it had to be withdrawn within 48 hours at the directive of another Umno Minister.

The second example is the “great debate” in Parliament on Thursday to victimize Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the 1Malaysia-APCO-1Israel controversy.

It had been agreed that Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat would have four speakers for each side in the debate.

For Pakatan Rakyat, apart from Anwar himself, the other three speakers were PKR’s Azmin Ali (Gombak), PAS’ Mahfuz Omar (Pokok Sena) and myself from DAP.

For Barisan Nasional, the four speakers were Nor Jazlan (Pulai), Abdul Rahman Dahlan (Kota Belud), Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau) and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (Padang Rengas) – all from UMNO.

Does MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other Sarawak/Sabah component parties of Barisan Nasional exist in the eyes of UMNO?

The PR parliamentary debaters came from all the three parties in PR – DAP, PKR and PAS – demonstrating that PR is the real standard-bearer of 1Malaysia.

1Malaysia, however, is a farcical concept to Barisan Nasional as all the four BN speakers came from Umno.

One important message of the March 8 “political tsunami” of the 2008 general elections was public anger, outrage and rejection of overbearing UMNO political hegemony at the expense of the relevance of MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other Sarawak/Sabah BN component parties.

This message of the March 8 “political tsunami” had fallen on deaf ears as after two years, UMNO political hegemony has worsened to the extent that Umno had gobbled up MCA, MIC, Gerakan, SUPP and the other Sarawak/ Sabah BN component parties so much so that all the four BN MPs who spoke in the “great debate” on Thursday came from UMNO with no one from the other 13 BN component parties!

These are two of many examples of the worsening political hegemony of Umno, with its accompaniment of overbearing political arrogance, treating MCA, MIC, Gerakan, SUPP and other Sarawak/Sabah component parties of Barisan Nasional with utter contempt.

This is why the over one million MCA members should openly vote against Barisan Nasional and MCA parliamentary and state assembly candidates in the next general elections for not being able to hold their heads high, in pride and honour, as a result of the politics of irresponsibility of MCA and UMNO leaders.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Ipoh Timor