Statement
by Lim Kit Siang - Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong
in Petaling Jaya
on Wednesday 5th November 1996

While Malaysians should not over-react to the racist remarks of one or two Australian MPs, Malaysians should not under-react to the failure of the Australian Prime Minister to take a stronger stand to denounce anti-Asian racism

I agree with the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that Malaysians should not “over-react” to the racist remarks of one or two Australian MPs, but it is important that Malaysia should not under-react to the failure of the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard to take a stronger stand to denounce the anti-Asian speech of Queensland Independent MP Pauline Hanson or to check the outbursts of anti-Asian racism in Australia in the past few weeks.

Malaysia, with our big student population in Australia, cannot be complacent or indifferent to the outbursts of anti-Asian racism as a result of the speech by Hanson on Sept. 10, as their safety must always be our top priority, and this is why the Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia must be commended for publicly speaking up recently against the row over race and immigration.

The results of a recent opinion poll in Australia should further underline the importance that Malaysia cannot take the anti-Asian outbursts in Australia lightly.

A new Herald AGB-McNair poll as reported in today’s Sydney Morning Herald has found that Australians are deeply divided over the controversy on race and immigration sparked off by Hanson’s anti-Asian speech in the Australian Parliament.

The national poll, conducted last weekend, found that 62 per cent of respondents endorsed Hanson’s call to freeze immigration and 53 per cent supported her plan to reduce the proportion of Asians coming in.

Malaysian MPs from all political parties must be aware of such trends in Australia and should speak up in Parliament to let the Australian Prime Minister John Howard know that they are as concerned as Australians that he had failed to denounce Hanson to nip in the bud the outbursts of anti-Asian racism in Australia.

The Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, the Right Rev George Browning for instance has called on John Howard to take a stronger public stand in support of multi-racial Australia and that only he could speak “to fill the vacuum”.

(5/11/96)