Media statement by Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Monday, 12^th July 2010: 

Chinese Perkasa the most irresponsible and worse possible response by MCA to Perkasa

The proposal by the MCA vice president and Deputy Finance Minister Senator Datuk Lim Siang Chai for the formation of a Chinese version of Perkasa to counter Perkasa is the most irresponsible and worst possible MCA response.

It is also the latest and most potent proof of the complete failure of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia to unite Malaysians of diverse races, religions, cultures and languages in the country.

Is it seriously suggested that the way into the future for Malaysia is for the sprouting fo ethnic versions of Perkasa - not only Chinese Perkasa, but also Indian Perkasa, Iban Perkasa, Kadazan Perkasa and Orang Asli Perkasa?

If Najib's 1Malaysia policy is successful as a meaningful Malaysian nation-building policy, there would be no Perkasa let alone the ridiculous suggestion by a top MCA leader for the formation of a Chinese Perkasa to counter Perkasa.

Is the MCA leadership seriously suggesting that the best way to counter the race-baiting and racist provocations like Perkasa screaming "Ketuanan Melayu" is to counter-scream "Ketuanan Cina"?

This will in fact falling right into the trap of Perkasa and such-like manifestations, for it will give them justification to continue to try to provoke, scare and stampede further polarization in Malaysia by making baseless allegations that the Chinese will take over the country; that the Malays will be oppressed and discriminated against in the next general election; that the Malays are losing political power marking the end of "Ketuanan Melayu" or the recent irresponsible claim that the ratio of registration of new voters between non-Malays and Malays are 40:1 when in fact it is a 2:1 ratio Malay to non-Malay.

If Najib's 1Malaysia is sincere and serious in wanting to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic group as second, then there should be no talk of "Ketuanan Melayu", "Ketuanan Cina", "Ketuanan India", "Ketuanan Iban", "Ketuanan Kadazan" or "Ketuanan Orang Asli" as all Malaysians should focus on "Ketuanan Malaysian"!

By proposing the formation of a Chinese Perkasa to counter Perkasa, the MCA leadership is indirectly admitting to the umbilical links of UMNO leadership to Perkasa, which has been outsourced by UMNO to ensure that national policies are Malay and not Malaysian-centric.

The MCA leadership should not disclaim its political responsibility for the anti-national Perkasa phenomenon by trying to outsource it to a Chinese Perkasa.

In the few months of its existence, Perkasa had been successful in burying the New Economic Model (NEM) by ensuring that the NEM proposals for a total revamp of national economic policies to escape the middle-income trap of the past two decades to become a competitive high-income developed country by dismantling the New Economic Policy (NEP) with its suffocating race-based quotas which only benefit a handful of Umno cronies and spawned crippling corruption in the country.

The MCA leadership should speak up in Cabinet and Government to demand that UMNO leadership break all links and all forms of support for Perkasa and that the Umno leadership and the Cabinet do not succumb to Perkasa pressures for the abandonment of the NEM proposals to replace NEP race-based with NEM income-and- needs based affirmative policies.

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