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2004 – the election year – will decide whether there will be springtime for democracy, good governance,  sustained development and national prosperity or whether they  will remain unfulfilled  national hopes 2004 Chinese New Year Message by Lim Kit Siang (Penang,  Tuesday): The Chinese New Year of the Monkey  falls on the 83rd day  of the “First Hundred Days” of the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has raised high public hopes and expectations for a  clean, incorruptible and  efficient government prepared to listen to the people – just like the “ABC” slogan of “Amanah, Bersih, Cekap” of a new Prime Minister 22 years ago.  The “political spring” has not yet come to Malaysia but 2004 – the year of the 11th national general election – will decide whether there will be springtime for democracy, good governance, sustained development and national prosperity or whether they  will remain unfulfilled  national hopes.  Malaysia has to recover a lot of lost ground before there could be a springtime for democracy and  good governance, as illustrated by the following international  rankings for the country:  Civil and political liberties – 96th out of 100 countries (Freedom House 2001); Press freedom – 104th out of 166 countries (Reporters sans frontiers 2003); Corruption Perception Index – 37th out of 133 countries (Transparency International 2003); Asiaweek  2000 ranking of 77 Best Universities in Asia-Pacific -    University of  Malaya (No.  47),  Universiti Putra Malaysia (No. 52) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (No. 57).  On the eve of the Chinese New Year, the country has been buffeted by grim news, including:  Announcement of the  coming launch of the government-sponsored Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) of a book titled: “Malaysia, an Islamic State” as a follow-up to the “929 Declaration” in 2001 that Malaysia is an Islamic State and response to the PAS’ Islamic State Document released last November; The brutal and heinous gang-rape/murder of 10-year-old Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani as a shocking reminder of the growing crime, immorality and lawlessness in the country; and Warning of drop of US investments in Malaysia. Whether 2004 will usher in a “political spring” for Malaysia with the new Prime Minister fulfilling his promises of a clean, incorruptible and  efficient  government prepared to “listen” to the people, will depend on the people using their votes wisely to strengthen and not weaken the  system of democratic governance – to ensure  a reinvigorated Parliament, an independent Judiciary, a free Press, a vibrant civil society and a strong Opposition to check government abuses and excesses and in particular misguided nation-building policies, as in abandoning the 46-year nation-founding “social contract” that Malaysia is a democratic, secular, multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic State.  Happy Chinese New Year to all Malaysians. (20/1/2004) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman