The Barisan Alternative common manifesto offers the commonly-agreed
six-prong strategy of the four Opposition parties to build
a just Malaysia, namely:
The long-term objective of the Barisan Alternative is to bring into being a progressive and just society, which enables every individual to fulfil his or her physical, intellectual and spiritual potential, a society which is politically mature, which is caring, creative and informed, which holds balanced values and orientation, and which can make a real contribution to the Asian renaissance in the broadest sense and not merely in terms of the economy or technology.
Barisan Nasional leaders and propagandists, however, would not give Malaysians time to read, study and digest the Barisan Alternative’s common manifesto "Towards A Just Malaysia" and have started their campaign of distortions and falsehoods against the Opposition.
Berita Harian gave front page treatment with the headline "Negara Islam tiada dalam manifesto pembangkang" while Utusan Malaysia’s heading carries a very similar heading, "Pembangkang lancar manifesto tanpa sebut negara Islam", suggesting that PAS leaders have betrayed PAS principles by dropping the Islamic State objective.
MCA and Gerakan leaders have meanwhile persisted their attacks on the DAP claiming that in teaming up with PAS in Barisan Alternative, the DAP had betrayed our principles as we are supporting the PAS’ objective of an Islamic State.
In fact, one of the four MCA/Gerakan "trump cards" in the coming general election is to create alarm and fear among the Chinese electorate and to mislead them to vote against the DAP and support the Barisan Nasional in the belief that the DAP is now supporting PAS’ Islamic State, while one of the UMNO’s "trump cards" in the Malay heartland is to tell Malay voters that PAS had yielded to DAP pressure and given up its Islamic State objective.
I call on the Malaysian Chinese to give very serious consideration to
the politics of fear and falsehoods launched by the MCA and Gerakan, revolving
around the four "trump cards", which has made MCA President, Datuk Seri
Dr. Ling Liong Sik so confident that he said 99 per cent of the Chinese
would vote for Barisan Nasional in the next election. These four "trump
cards" are:
The MCA/Gerakan "trump card" of Islamic State is very powerful if the
people succumb to it, but the DAP is confident that if the
general election is free, fair and clean, we can debunk this "trump card"
on three reasons:
However, the Prime Minister has already warned that the next general election is going to be the "dirtiest" in the nation’s history, and I am not so sure that the DAP would be able to have the time and facilities to debunk this "trump card".
If the MCA/Gerakan "trump card" succeeds to create fear about Islamic State as a result of DAP-PAS co-operation, it may create a self-fulfilling scenario of bringing Islamic State closer
If the MCA/Gerakan "trump card" succeeds to create fear among the Chinese voters about the Islamic State as to cause them to vote against the DAP and support the Barisan Nasional, it may create a self-fulfilling scenario of bringing about an Islamic State closer.
I was very attracted to a recent article by a political analyst entitled: "MALAYSIAN CHINESE DILEMMA IN COMING ELECTION – Votes Motivated By Fear Will End Up Self-Fulfilling".
The analyst started his article:
"Was DAP Leader Lim Kit Siang crying wolf when he voiced the danger of DAP suffering the worst defeat in history in the coming Election?
"I do not think so. In fact, I have been having this misgiving for quite some time. Recent political upheavals in Malaysia and Indonesia have thrown up political factors that caused a major exchange of roles between the Malay and Chinese voters in an election. The Malay voters who traditionally voted en bloc for the UMNO dominated Barisan Nasional are now poised to vote against BN. And the Chinese voters who traditionally supported opposition party DAP (support rate ranging from 55% to 80%) have now shifted position, ready to cast their votes for BN.
"While the Malay switch of allegiance is in part related to political ideals (inspired mainly by Anwar), the Chinese shift of voting preference is motivated mainly by fears. Little do the Chinese realise that their votes of fear may turn out to be a self-fulfilling exercise that will transform their fears into reality.
"The basis of my observation is that the trans-migration of Chinese votes in the coming Election will be a major one, much more than what Lim Guan Eng’s expressed worry of a further reduction of Chinese votes from 55% in 1995 to 50% now (Sin Chew Jit Poh dated 15.10.99). As a result of this impending shift of Chinese votes, DAP will be practically eliminated as a political force, leaving the opposition field almost entirely to PAS, whose strength in Parliament is expected to increase many folds, thanks to the deflection of Anwar sympathisers into its folds from UMNO. Keadilan is not expected to do well in the Election as its candidates will be contesting in mostly racially mixed constituencies, where the Chinese votes are pivotal.
"The emerging political scene will then be a bi-polar power structure - a much stronger PAS dominating on the opposition, with the ever victorious and powerful Barisan Nasional (controlled by UMNO) returning to the seat of Government.
"The Chinese must now compare this scenario with the other potential scenario that may surface, if and when the Chinese throw their support behind the Alternative Front. In that scenario, the opposition benches in Parliament will be filled by not only a stronger PAS, but also a stronger DAP as well as first time occupants Keadilan and PRM, both parties championing multi-racialism. And of course, the occupants in the government benches will be reduced commensurately.
Which of the above two scenarios is more likely to bring the two worst fears of the Chinese into reality?"
One of these "two worst fears of the Chinese" is Malaysia becoming an Islamic State. This is what the analyst has to say:
"Barisan Nasional is in effect a basket of racial parties, and its supposed fabric of multi-racial harmony is precariously woven together through relationship among communal leaders, bonded by personal self-interests. And the role of MCA in this racial grouping is peripheral. Its partnership with UMNO is more cosmetic than power sharing in nature. For purpose of political calculations, BN means UMNO, as the former is completely controlled by the latter. And UMNO means Malays and Muslims.
"So, under the newly emerged bi-polar political realities, we have on the one side, opposition PAS, whose idealogy is Islamic; and on the other side, Ruling Party UMNO, whose ideology is racial.
"In such a Parliament where both poles of power are Muslim based, it is entirely likely that UMNO will not desist from increasing Islamic legislation , in its competition for influence among Muslims who dominate 75% of the parliamentary constituencies in this Country.
"In such an eventuality, what is there to stop the slide towards an Islamic State, without the moderating influence of DAP and other multi-racial parties Keadilan and PRM?
"Can MCA be expected to stand up and stop this trend? Not a chance, given MCA’s unbroken record of complete subservience to UMNO in the past 30 years, and the heavily vested personal self-interests MCA leaders have in the status quo of BN.
"Hence, chances are that there will not be any significant force within BN that could check the trend towards an Islamic State, should UMNO decide out of political expediency to go along with it."
I hope that this political analyst is wrong, as it would then be a double
disaster if the MCA/Gerakan’s Islamic State "trump card" succeeds, according
to Liong Sik, in ensuring that 99 per cent of the Chinese vote for the
Barisan Nasional in the next election:
The DAP has proven from its 33-year record that it is the only party which could be trusted to stand firm on the fundamental rights of Malaysians, even if it means DAP leaders have to lose their personal liberties whether as a result of detention under the Internal Security Act or being victimised by selective prosecution – unlike MCA leaders who go to jail for criminal breach of trust or corruption, completely unrelated to the rights and aspirations of Malaysians.
The higher and long-term interests of the people and nation demand that the four MCA/Gerakan "trump cards" of lies and falsehoods must be debunked so that the next election will not become the "dirtiest" in the nation’s history and ensure that Malaysians do not miss the first golden opportunity in the nation’s 42-year political history to usher in fundamental changes to deny the Barisan Nasional its uninterrupted two-thirds parliamentary majority and break its political hegemony to create a new Malaysia.
A special DAP National Committee to Debunk the MCA/Gerakan Four "Trump Cards" for the next general election headed by National Organising Secretary, Kerk Kim Hock and National Publicity Secretary, Tan Kok Wai, has been set up and the Debunk MCA/Gerakan Four "Trump Cards" Campaign would be taken to all parts in the country.
(25/10/99)