Media Statement
by Lim Guan Eng  

(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): DAP express revulsion at UMNO Youth and its President Datuk Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn’s dishonest tactics in portraying DAP as rejecting Tunku Abdul Rahman as Bapa Merdeka of our country. Such tactics are divisive and against the national interest as it only serves to distract attention from the real problems faced by 25 million Malaysians.

I wish to reiterate DAP’s position which has been declared consistently during the 39 years of our party’s history.

o    First, Tunku Abdul Rahman’s role in helping to achieve Independence for Malaysia and as Bapa Merdeka Malaysia is not only unquestioned but fully supported by every Malaysian.

o    Second, Merdeka was not achieved by the singular efforts of UMNO alone but by the collective effort of every Chinese, Indian and Malays, including UMNO members and Malays not in UMNO.

o    Third, DAP had never glorified Chin Peng or the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) as we abhor the use of violence and unconstitutional means, and this commitment by the DAP to work within the constitutional process to achieve greater political freedoms and improve the economic well-being of the people was repeatedly criticized by the CPM.

Despite being unable to show proof where DAP had ever denied Tunku’s iconic status as the father of Malaysia, UMNO Youth has chosen to adopt the tactics of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels who said,
 

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

UMNO Youth should prove that truth is not their greatest enemy by stopping such lies against the DAP. Has UMNO Youth become so politically bankrupt that it has no other issues to fight for? If so, then I would like to suggest that Hishamuddin focus on the economic hardship faced by the people, especially poor business conditions and rising inflation caused by the increase in fuel prices.

Malaysians should see through this political sandiwara by UMNO Youth to distract attention from the economic problems as demonstrated by the poor corporate performance of the Government-Linked Corporations(GLCs) such as MAS and Proton which recorded losses of RM 281 million and RM 12.35 million respectively.

Further, if UMNO Youth and Hishamuddin are sincere in wanting to preserve the Merdeka spirit, then are they prepared to restore the Merdeka Federal Constitution to improve the people’s economic well-being and democratic freedoms enshrined in our struggle for Merdeka?

Before subsequent numerous amendments altered its spirit and character, the original Merdeka Constitution conceived in liberty and freedom as well as imbued with the ideals of democracy, rule of law, justice and equality is still widely accepted by Malaysians from all religion, races and cultures.

By reverting to the original Merdeka Constitution, Malaysians can move forward where democracy and economic development go together; where freedom does not mean oppression; where equality of opportunity is preferred to equality of outcome; where rule of law ensures social justice; and where spreading economic prosperity does not breed rampant corruption.

For UMNO Youth to talk about Merdeka without practicing or applying the principles and ideals that fathered our nation is a great disservice to the UMNO leaders, non-Malays and Malays not in UMNO who fought for and achieved Merdeka.