Media Conference Statement by Lim Kit Siang in
Batu Pahat on Sunday, 31st
August 2008:
UMNO/BN - political dinosaurs
irrelevant to Merdeka II aspirations of new generation of Bangsa
Malaysia
In his 51st National Day message last night,
the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he hoped that
every Malaysian could give importance to solidarity.
However, Abdullah had himself set the bad example of failing to give top
priority to national unity and solidarity in plural Malaysia, or he
would not have adopted a lackadaisical and irresponsible stance on the
legitimate protests over the highly racist, divisive and provocative
remarks by the Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail
during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign belittling the Chinese
community in Malaysia as “orang tumpangan” who could not be trusted as
Malaysians.
In defending Ahmad Ismail by claiming that the Penang Umno leader had
not meant what he said, Abdullah was condoning Ahmad Ismail’s
insensitive, offensive and racist remarks when he should have lived up
to his pledge repeated many times before that he would be Prime Minister
for all Malaysians and not of any one race.
The Prime Minister has again disappointed Malaysians with another breach
of his many sweet-sounding pledges when he became Prime Minister five
years ago.
In the past few days, various levels of the MCA and Gerakan (and even
SUPP), and their youth and women wings, reaching as high as MCA
Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, MCA Deputy Minister Dr. Wee Ka Siong and
Acting Gerakan President, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon had been making
public noises demanding disciplinary action against Ahmad Ismail.
With the Prime Minister coming out with such a weak, ineffective and
useless response in virtually protecting Ahmad Ismail from having to
face any disciplinary action, are the MCA, Gerakan and SUPP leaders
again going to capitulate or will they pursue the matter in Cabinet next
week as well as demand an emergency meeting of the Barisan Nasional
supreme council for stern disciplinary action to be taken against Ahmad
Ismail so as not to make a mockery of the 51st Merdeka celebrations?
The Ahmad Ismail episode is the latest example that Umno and the Barisan
Nasional have become political dinosaurs irrelevant to and incapable of
adapting to the Merdeka II aspirations of the new generation of Bangsa
Malaysia who want to see justice, fair play, moderation and good
governance.
UMNO and Barisan Nasional (since Alliance days) may be the world’s
longest-serving government coalition in a parliamentary democracy but
this only underline its increasing irrelevance as a political dinosaur.
There is however no shortage of examples of UMNO and BN’s growing
incompetence, impotence and irrelevance as political dinosaurs.
Just two latest instances:
Firstly, the increasingly undemocratic instincts by the powers-that-be
to impose a clamp on dissent and criticism as illustrated by the
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to shut down
Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s Malaysia Today news portal, completely ignoring
the solemn government undertaking to the world of no Internet censorship
in the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees.
Secondly, the unchecked corruption, abuses of power and malpractices
exposed in the latest Auditor-General’s Report 2007, such as pouring
RM537 million of taxpayers’ money into the Columbia Aircraft
Manufacturing Corporation in the United States in the past 13 years but
only getting a return of only RM25 million!
Such colossal waste of public funds are not isolated cases, whether at
the federal or state government level. In Perak for instance, a
subsidiary of the Perak State Development Corporation went on a losing
spree, chalking up over RM100 million in accumulated losses when its
paid up capital was only RM50,000!
These are shocking, shameful and ugly examples of “Malaysia Boleh”!
Last year, the country also went into a frenzy of shock at the exposes
of financial irregularities, criminal breach of trust and corrupt
practices in the Auditor-General’s 2006 Report, such as the government
paying RM5,700 for a car jack worth RM50; RM224 for a set of four
screwdrivers costing RM32 in the market; RM5.72 million for two crane
towers against the market price of RM2.98 million; technical books
consisting of 10 titles priced at RM10,700; and a 3.1 megapixel digital
camera that was bought for RM8,254.
Parliament and the nation were assured by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)
that it was conducting investigations into the exposes by the
Auditor-General in the 2006 report, but nothing has come of it and the
ACA is now inundated with even more exposes in the Auditor-General’s
2007 Report!
*
Lim
Kit Siang, DAP
Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor
http://dapmalaysia.org