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Call on Malaysians to prepare for next general election by uniting to vote solidly to endorse Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman's legacy call "Don't Turn Malaysia into an Islamic State" and defend the 1957 Merdeka Constitution Speech - DAP Paya Terubong Dinner by Lim Kit Siang (Penang,  Friday): Tonight, I wish to issue a call to all Malaysians to prepare for the next general election - by uniting to vote solidly to endorse Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman's legacy call "Don't Turn Malaysia into an Islamic State" and defend the 1957 Merdeka Constitution, the "social contract" and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic state, whether ala-UMNO or ala-PAS. Some 18 months after the "929 Declaration" of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at the Gerakan national delegates' conference on Sept. 29, 2001, the Barisan Nasional government has taken the "929 Declaration" one major step forward at the official opening of Parliament on March 10, 2003 by importing it into the Royal Address, calling on Malaysians to "understand the meaning of an Islamic State". It is the undisputed convention in a system of parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy that the royal address at the official opening of Parliament is a speech drafted by the Government, and not by Yang di Pertuan Agong, to outline the Government's policy. As such, the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP Ministers should apologise and explain why they agreed to the import of the '929 Declaration" that Malaysia is an Islamic state into the royal address for the official opening of Parliament - breaking the important tradition that the royal address should be non-partisan and non-controversial. The reference to the "Islamic State" in the royal address at the official opening of Parliament is a clear and unmistakable proof that the "929 Declaration" of Mahathir is not for "talk" only, but is meant to be the centerpiece of the new policies of the Barisan Nasional government. In the royal address for the official opening of Parliament immediately after the 1982 general election, the Mahathir government included the call for a "one language, one culture" nation. DAP was in the forefront in opposing any attempt to establish a "one language, one culture" Malaysia as it would undermine the most fundamental characteristics of the Malaysian society - that it is a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation where the only successful nation-building policy is by way of integration and not through assimilation. At the time, there was a Kepayang by-election in Ipoh, Perak, and the DAP"s by-election campaign theme was to oppose the "One Language, One Culture" policy of the Barisan Nasional government as stated in the royal address and to demand that Malaysia remain a nation of many languages, cultures and religions. The DAP won a resounding vote of support from the people in the Kepayang by-election which gave a major boost to the nation-wide campaign to reject the assimilationist approach to nation-building and the policy of "one language, one culture", resulting in Mahathir publicly admitting more than a decade later of the mistake of trying to pursue an assimilation nation-building policy at the beginning of his administration. There won't be any by-election before the next general election to give the people an opportunity like the Kepayang by-election in 1982 to resoundingly reject the "929 Declaration" that Malaysia is an Islamic State and reaffirm the 1957 Merdeka Constitution. The next general election would be the sole and last opportunity for Malaysians to take a stand whether they support the jettisoning of the 46-year Merdeka Constitution and agree to Malaysia being turned into an Islamic State or whether they want to stand up to defend decisively the 1957 "social contract" solemnly agreed by our forefathers that Malaysia is a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion, but Malaysia is not an Islamic state - whether ala UMNO or PAS! (21/3/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman