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The Melaka State Government Should Restore The Honour, Prestige And Dignity Of The Award Of Datukships By Setting Out A Clear Qualifying Criteria And List Their Full Contributions To Melaka Of Those Awarded Datukships Speech - Kampung Macap Umboo Branch DAP Dinner by Lim Guan Eng (Melaka, Thursday): The Melaka State government should restore the honour, prestige and dignity of the award of datukships by setting out a clear qualifying criteria and list their full contributions to Melaka of those awarded datukships. The controversy over awarding 84 datukships in this year’s Governor awards whose recipients included unknowns with no record of any contributions to Melaka state and Khalid Jafri Bakar Shah, author of the infamous book titled “50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Menjadi Perdana Menteri”, have left 500,000 Malaccans mystified.   For too long Malaccans have wondered why persons with no connection or record of contributions to Malaccans have been awarded Datukships. In the past there was a Datuk were not even 30 years old and had only visited Malacca as a tourist. The time has come to make public a clear qualifying criteria for Datukships and list their full contributions to the state whether economically, socially, politically or culturally.  Such open transparent and public declaration would prove that the government is accountable and responsible in awarding Datukships. More importantly it would help to dispel the unfavourable impressions that these awards are economic or political pay-offs. Such suspicions is a grave injustice to those who deserve to be awarded Datukships.   Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam should act decisively and courageously towards restoring the honour prestige and dignity of these awards that has been badly affected by the controversy of such Melaka being such a small state but having such a large number of Datuks.  Datuk Ong Ka Ting Should Prove His Commitment To His “Rakyat Malaysia” Concept By Withdrawing MCA’s Support For Extremist UMNO MPs Who Threaten Non-Malays Or Wish To Exclude Non-Malays From Malaysian Life Malaysian voters will not forget MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP spineless failure to condemn Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar for describing on October 4 2004 that an UMNO MP Badruddin Amiruddin who threatened non-Malays during the UMNO General Assembly by waving a book on the May 13 racial riots as merely conducting a history lesson.  The silence of these non-Malay BN parties at their Annual General Meetings(AGM) of such irresponsible and shameless threats against non-Malays is unacceptable when the May 13 racial riots is a tragedy that caused loss of life.   It is pointless for MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting to talk about “Rakyat Malaysia” in his opening speech of the MCA AGM when he dares not criticize UMNO MPs who reject his “Rakyat Malaysia” by making threats against non-Malays or the Higher Education Datuk Dr Shafie Salleh promising that he will not allow non-Malays to enter UiTM as long as he is the Minister . And yet Datuk Ong and MCA will support these extremist UMNO MPs to seek non-Malay votes  during general elections.  I wish to challenge Datuk Ong to prove his commitment to his Rakyat Malaysia by declaring that MCA will withdraw support from UMNO MPs such as Badruddin Amiruddin who threatens non-Malays, Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar who consider such threats of waving a book on the May 13 racial riots as merely conducting a history lesson and Higher Education Minister Datuk Shafie Salleh for promising to keep out non-Malays out of UiTM. Datuk Ong should declare that they only deserve MCA and the Chinese community support if they withdraw and apologise over their racist remarks..     (12/10/2004) * Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General