Keng Yaik should apologise to the voters of Teluk Intan for insulting their political intelligence by attributing Gerakan’s loss in the Teluk Intan by-election to the so-called concocted article by a Chinese newspaper

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Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang

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(Petaling Jaya, Friday): DAP should thank the Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik for attributing powers to us which we never knew we had, as he blamed the Gerakan’s shock defeat in the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election last Saturday to the DAP "playing up racial issues".

However, I am really amazed at Keng Yaik’s allegation and would want to know how the DAP could have "played up racial issues" among the Chinese voters with an Indian candidate.

I personally would like to know this secret of "playing up racial issues" among the Chinese voters when we have an Indian candidate and I hope Keng Yaik would not be miserly in imparting this insight to me.

In actual fact, it is the Gerakan which had launched a "racial campaign" in the by-election by saying that "the Chinese must vote for a Chinese", with the Penang Chief Minister, Tan Sri. Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, taking the Gerakan "racial campaign" one step further by publicly declaring that M. Kulasegaran of DAP would know nothing about Chinese education as he is an Indian!

Keng Yaik said he had only complained verbally to the acting Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and would be pushing for more action to be taken.

I would advise the newly-elected MP for Teluk Intan, M. Kulasegaran to submit an official complaint to the Acting Prime Minister about Gerakan leaders "playing up racial issues" in the Teluk Intan by-election, particularly by the Penang Chief Minister in calling on the Chinese voters of Teluk Intan not to vote for an Indian candidate on the grounds of Chinese education, and I hope the Acting Prime Minister would take the necessary action against the Penang Chief Minister.

Keng Yaik now claims that the so-called concocted article by a Chinese newspaper about his saying that Gerakan did not need Chinese votes to win the seat caused Gerakan’s shock loss in the Teluk Intan by-election and was responsible for a 20 per cent drop of support by the Chinese community. I feel very sorry for Keng Yaik for he has insulted the political intelligence of the voters of Teluk Intan who responded to the DAP’s call to "write history, create miracle" and he should publicly apologise to the people of Teluk Intan for showing utter contempt of the Teluk Intan 20 Points which were the reason the voters of Teluk Intan voted for DAP and M. Kulasegaran.

The so-called concocted article by a Chinese newspaper was one of the many faux pas committed by Keng Yaik in the Teluk Intan by-election. Nobody knows the rights and wrongs of this issue, although his demand for strong action against "certain vernacular newspapers to see that they do not use racial issues to increase circulation" is most shocking both because of its vindictiveness and one-sidedness, for the following reasons:

• Keng Yaik was quite happy with the clarification and apology carried by the Chinese newspaper and it was circulated in tens of thousands to flood the entire Teluk Intan parliamentary constituency;
• I and other DAP leaders had been the victim of very unfair and irresponsible press reporting during elections. On the eve of the 1995 general elections, I was the victim and Tsu Koon the beneficiary of a very unfair and irresponsible media. Would Keng Yaik agree that similarly strong action should be taken against these mass media?
• Why is Keng Yaik only targetting at "certain vernacular newspapers" when all newspapers, whether vernacular or "non-vernacular", had been guilty of unfair and irresponsible reporting against political leaders, including the "use of racial issues to increase circulation"? Is Keng Yaik only brave to demand action against Chinese newspapers, but not brave enough to demand action against Malay and English newspapers, or radio and television?

In actual fact, if the Gerakan or Barisan Nasional conducts an impartial and unemotional post mortem of the Teluk Intan by-election result, they would find that the so-called concocted article by a Chinese newspaper played a very minor part in the shock defeat of the Gerakan candidate in the Teluk Intan by-election.

When the voters of Teluk Intan rose to the occasion to "write history, create miracle", it is not because of the so-called concocted article in a Chinese newspaper, but the Teluk Intan 20 Points, such as:

1. Fully endorse DAP’s success in bringing down Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik as Malacca Chief Minister and Tan Sri Muhammad Taib as Selangor Mentri Besar;

2. Call on Attorney-General, Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, to uphold the Malaysian Constitution and the integrity of his office and to stop misuse of his discretionary prosecution powers and the selective prosecution against the Opposition and NGOs;

3. Pledge full support to Member of Parliament Lim Guan Eng in his brave and courageous battle to fight corruption and establish integrity in high political places regardless of his own personal risks;

4. Demand that the whole nation should make the war against corruptgion as the first item of national agenda with the national target to be among the 10 cleanest nations in the world;

5. Strongly protest against another round of electricity tariff increase by Tenaga Nasional; and

6. Call for a fair land distribution policy to Malaysians who need land, either for housing or cultivation.

I would call on Keng Yaik to respect the Teluk Intan 20 Points or the Gerakan President would be rejecting the historic political message sent out by the people of Teluk Intan on May 17, confirming that the decision of the Teluk Intan voters in the by-election was indeed right and that the Gerakan candidate did not deserve any support as Gerakan has completely been cut off from the fundamental demands and aspirations of the people - whether in Teluk Intan or the whole country.

(23/5/97)