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Malaysians want political reforms to bring about justice, freedom, democracy and good governance through the ballot box and not through violence or mob rule

Speech
- Penang DAP State Convention
by Lim Kit Siang

(Penang, Sunday): In the past few years, Malaysians have realised the need for political reforms to bring about justice, freedom, democracy and good governance, especially after the April 1995 general elections when the Barisan Nasional won an overwhelming landslide victory both in Parliament and the Penang State Assembly with no effective check and balance on the excesses of executive power.

This was why the people of Bagan in September 1995 and the people of Teluk Intan in May 1997 gave the DAP two great by-election victories.

In the Bagan by-election, the single greatest issue was the restoration of democracy and this was why Bagan won the name of "Bandar Democracy" because of the solid support given by the voters of Bagan to defend and uphold democracy. The people of Teluk Intan not only picked up the baton of democracy from the people of Bagan in the May 1997 by-election, they also unfurled the standard of justice, freedom, democracy and good governance.

In both the Bagan and Teluk Intan by-elections, the people made clear their concerns about the restoration of human rights and democracy in Malaysia; the repeal of undemocratic and draconian laws like the Internal Security Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Sedition Act and the Police Act; the restoration of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary; an all-out war against corruption and all forms of abuses of power and malpractices; protection of the rakyat against inflation and exploitative prices especially unreasonable tariffs whether highway tolls or electricity tariffs, government inefficiency and incompetence; the right of the people to development, housing, good education, health care and quality environment as clean air and water.

The Bagan and Teluk Intan by-elections were proof that the political ferment for change in the country started well before Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister on Sept. 2 and drummed out of UMNO the next day but there is no doubt that Anwar’s reformasi movement has given the political ferment greater force and power to the extent that there is a political sea-change particularly in Malay society.

The events of the past few months, particularly from Lim Guan Eng’s case to Anwar Ibrahim’s case, are further strong testimony that Malaysians want political reforms to bring about justice, freedom, democracy and good governance. However, Malaysians want to bring about these political reforms through the ballot box and not through violence or mob rule.

Malaysia is not Indonesia and there is no room in Malaysia for violence or mob rule and there has been no such violence or mob rule.

DAP had taken this position well before the sacking of Anwar - in fact, immediately after the fall of Suharto when the Malaysian authorities were afraid that the "Indonesian contagion" would spread to Malaysia and started cracking down on public dinners and meetings by opposition parties and NGOs.

At a dialogue between DAP leaders and the top police leadership in June this year, I had made it very clear that Malaysia was not Indonesia and that Malaysians do not want violence or mob rule but their demand for justice, freedom, democracy and good governance was no less urgent and insistent.

What we want to see is greater democratic space for Malaysians to exercise their democratic right to assemble peacefully to express their legitimate concerns and aspirations without being regarded as "bad hats" out to create violence or mob rule in Malaysia - so that their demand for justice, freedom, democracy and good governance can be channelled and resolved democratically and peacefully.

The challenge to the Police as custodians of law and order is not to transform a peaceful demonstration into a violent scene by extremely provocative actions and handling of the situation, such as resorting to water cannon, tear gas and police brutalities against unarmed and defenceless people but to ensure that peaceful demonstrations end without any threat to law and order.

What Malaysia faces today is not so much a police or security problem as a political challenge demanding for change and this challenge must be met and resolved through the democratic and political process and not through police batons, tear gas, water cannons and police violence.

The DAP had expressed its support for Anwar Ibrahim’s reformasi movement as the Permatang Pauh Declaration announced by the former Deputy Prime Minister on 12th September was in keeping with the aspirations of the people for justice, freedom, democracy and good governance which have been the cause of the political ferment in the country in the past few years.

The seven-point Permatang Pauh Declaration stressed:

that man is truly noble and free, with rights and responsibilities, that it is a sacrilege to abuse and denigrate any man or woman, to bind and restrict any man or woman without following the due process of just laws;
to establish justice for all, the weak and strong, the rich and poor, to preserve the institutions and processes of law from the defilement of graft and abuse of power;
to sanctify the power of the people through democratic means, for democracy is an imperative: man’s instinct for justice makes democracy a possibility, but the existence of tendencies to oppress makes it a necessity;
champions economic justice, one that advocates fairness in economic growth and distribution so that the rich do not get richer at the expense of the poor, for the world has enough for everyone, but too little to satisfy everyone’s greed;
to eradicate graft and abuse of power, to strip the opulent and greedy clique of their power to manipulate the market;
to reinforce a dynamic cultural identity, where faith in our noble cultural traditions is intact, but there is openness to all that is good in all traditions;
to launch the Malaysian nation into the information age and the borderless world, encouraging wisdom, self-assurance and openness towards a global friendship based on the principles of truth and justice.

The DAP does not see anything that is objectionable in the seven-point Permatang Pauh Declaration and it is for the Barisan Nasional leaders, whether from UMNO, MCA, Gerakan or MIC, to explain and convince the Malaysian people why the demand for political reform based on the seven-point Permatang Pauh Declaration is bad for the people and detrimental to the national interest.

(15/11/98)

*Lim Kit Siang - Malaysian Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Democratic Action Party Secretary-General & Member of Parliament for Tanjong

Malaysians want political reforms to bring about justice, freedom, democracy and good governance through the ballot box and not through violence or mob rule Speech - Penang DAP State Convention by Lim Kit Siang

Malaysians want political reforms to bring about justice, freedom, democracy and good governance through the ballot box and not through violence or mob rule

Speech
- Penang DAP State Convention
by Lim Kit Siang