"They are playing with fire and it will eventually burn down their own house."
Recently, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said that the next general election will be the "dirtiest" in history, which is a clear warning that the Barisan Nasional parties will be deploying the "dirtiest" electoral tactics in their party histories, as it is not the Opposition parties but the ruling parties which have the capability as well as the unscrupulous ruthlessness to make the next general election the "dirtiest" in history.
What I had not expected, however, is that the MCA President himself should be in the forefront to make the next election the "dirtiest" in history in recklessly resorting to the politics of lies, as in his allegation that I had "quietly met Fadzil Noor to support the formation of an Islamic state".
May be this is the customary style of politics of Liong Sik and MCA leaders, saying one thing in public but "quietly" doing the opposite in private discussions with UMNO leaders.
I challenge Liong Sik to produce proof to substantiate his outrageous allegation that I had "quietly met Fadzil Noor to support the formation of an Islamic state" - which he is of course unable to, as it is purely a figment of his imagination.
DAP’s stand on Islamic state, whether public or private, had always been consistent - that it is unsuitable and inappropriate for a plural society like Malaysia. DAP leaders have no problems in clearly stating our opposition to the formation of an Islamic state, whether at public forums or in discussions with political leaders, including PAS.
Liong Sik and MCA leaders hope to "burn down the DAP house" with the lie that the DAP supports PAS in the formation of an Islamic state - but I believe the MCA President and leaders are insulting the intelligence of the people if they think that the voters can be so easily misled by such a blatant lie.
I would advise Liong Sik to stop his politics of lies and to more profitably focus his energies on being an effective Minister by ensuring that the government ends its neglect and give a fair deal to the pig farmers affected by the nipah virus.
The livelihood of 20,000 people had been affected by the pig rearing industry catastrophe, which had caused the death of 105 people, but the MCA Ministers in Cabinet had completely let down the pig farmers in failing to ensure that the government come out with a just compensation and rehabilitation scheme, involving RM200 to RM250 compensation for every pig destroyed, compensation to the victims of the Nipah virus epidemic, and a RM400 million credit facility to put the pig rearing industry back on its feet again.
At the recent Parliamentary meeting, no MCA MP was concerned about the plight of the pig farmers as a result of the worst viral epidemic in the nation’s history - and the DAP MPs were the only voice in Parliament to demand that the pig farmers should be given fair compensation and assisted with a RM400 million credit facility scheme.
I had also informed Parliament of the four resolutions passed
by the Negri Sembilan Livestock Association at its meeting on 10th July
1999 asking for
In fact, as a result of my direct questioning, the Deputy Agriculture Minister, Tengku Mohamud Tengku Mansor, said that the the proposal for RM250 compensation for every pig culled would be discussed in the Special Cabinet Committee on JE.
As the Deputy Chairman of the Special Cabinet Committee on JE, can Liong Sik inform the pig farmers and the Malaysian public what he had done to get this proposal adopted by the government and Cabinet?
Liong Sik should not try to distract public attention from the failure of the MCA leaders in government, particularly in ensuring that the government is fair, just and caring in dealing with the pig rearing industry catastrophe, by spreading lies about the DAP supporting the Islamic state.
(7/8/99)