DAP Penang

DAP Leaders Must Be Careful Not To Fall Into BN’s Trap Of Using The UMNO-MCA “Sandiwara” Quarrel As An Excuse To Apply The ISA Powers Of Detention Without Trial As Happened During Operasi Lallang In 1987

By admin on August 18th, 2010

Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town on 18.8.2010.

DAP Leaders Must Be Careful Not To Fall Into BN’s Trap Of Using The UMNO-MCA “Sandiwara” Quarrel As An Excuse To Apply The ISA Powers Of Detention Without Trial As Happened During Operasi Lallang In 1987.

DAP leaders must be careful not to fall into BN’s trap of using the UMNO-MCA “sandiwara” quarrel as an excuse to exercise the Internal Security Act(ISA) powers of detention without trial. This “sandiwara” quarrel is a chilling reprise of the events during 1987 when then Deputy President Datuk Lee Kim Sai had a media war with then UMNO Youth President Datuk Najib Tun Razak.

This verbal media war between MCA and UMNO was then used a pretext by BN to initiate Operasi Lallang. However instead of detaining both UMNO and MCA leaders involved, DAP, PAS and PSM leaders were detained. Only Datuk Lee was asked to go on holiday to Australia.

Amongst those detained were Karpal Singh, Lim Kit Siang and myself. Pas leaders detained were Mohd Sabu, MPs Datuk Mahfuz Omar and YB Khalid Samad as well as PSM Selangor ADUN Dr Mohd Nasir. A total of 117 people were detained including 16 DAP MPs and State Assemblymen.

DAP leaders should not fall into the same trap that BN had set 23 years ago to use the “sandiwara” quarrel between MCA and UMNO as an excuse to use the ISA to distract attention from the real problems facing the country.

Otherwise DAP leaders will again be victimized and detained as happened under the 1987 Operasi Lallang, whilst the MCA and UMNO leaders escape unpunished. As BN faced challenges of rule of law, corruption, abuse of powers and a declining economy, playing up racial sentiments is an easy way of not being accountable for their failures.

SET UP ROYAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE LOSS OF RM 52 BILLION IN BUMI SHARES!

MCA, UMNO or even Perkasa would have no need to quarrel over the 30% bumi corporate equity requirement if a Royal Commission of Inquiry is set up to determine how RM 52 billion of shares meant for Malay/Bumis were hijacked by the few BN leaders. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had admitted that of the RM 54 billion in bumi shares given out since the New Economic Policy(NEP) was launched in 1970, only RM 2 billion remained in bumi hands.

Clearly the RM 52 billion worth of shares given to the few Malay/bumi leaders were cashed out and sold off. Stern action and the full force of the law should be unleashed at this open sabotage of the NEP. If the RM 52 billion worth of bumi shares still remained in bumi hands, then the 30% bumi/Malay equity target under the NEP would have long been achieved.

What is surprising is the reluctance by MCA, UMNO or even Perkasa to address this important issue of a monstrous hijack of RM 52 billion worth of bumi shares. All of them have failed to call for action against these saboteurs of the NEP. In Parliament all BN MPs have refused to support DAP’s call for a Royal Commission Enquiry to act against these saboteurs and compel them to cough up and return RM 52 billion back to the government to be redistributed to poor Malays/bumis.

Of the RM 54 billion bumi/Malay shares given, how many ordinary Malays got them? Every time this question is posed to ordinary Malays in the streets, the answer is always no. All Malaysians know the the RM 54 billion bumi shares are given to the cronies of UMNO or BN component parties.

BN’s refusal to take action against these NEP saboteurs and that they return the RM 52 billion is an immoral act designed to protect their own cronies who have profited shamelessly from a policy that is supposed to assist the poor Malays/bumis.

LIM GUAN ENG