The 15,276 voters of Sanggang should vote wisely on Saturday to make sure that they are not made "April’s Fools" by the Barisan Nasional, but demonstrate their righteousness, wisdom and foresight by going for the "win-win" formula of electing the PAS candidate, Datuk Hishammuddin Yahya, which will result in unprecedented development for the constituency in the next four years as well as sending an unambiguous message to Barisan Nasional that the people want political and economic reforms to bring about justice, freedom, democracy and good governance.
If the UMNO candidate is elected as Assemblyman for Sanggang, there will be the ordinary Barisan Nasional development in the constituency but if the Barisan Alternative candidate wins, the Barisan Nasional would bring about unprecedented development to win back Sanggang in the next general election.
A Barisan Nasional win in Sanggang will mean "more of the same" Barisan Nasional development as in the past four decades, while a Barisan Alternative victory in Sanggang will mean unprecedented development in Sanggang in the next four years which had never been seen in the past four decades.
This is because a Barisan Nasional defeat in Sanggang will be the final warning to the Barisan Nasional that it must undertake comprehensive political and economic reforms in the Pahang state if it is not to lose Pahang state power in the next general election whether in 2003 or 2004.
A Barisan Nasional defeat in Sanggang in the by-election will tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob as Pahang Mentri Besar, particularly for his lewd gesture on Sanggang nomination day - and a demand that Adnan should publicly apologise for his crude, vulgar and indecent conduct.
A Barisan Alternative victory in Sanggang in the by-election means increasing support by Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, for a new Malaysia where politics is not so much dominated by race and religion but by issues of justice, freedom, democracy and good governance - that Malaysians want the government to start earnestly on the process of political and social reforms to end corruption and abuses of power and to restore an independent judiciary, accountable government and promote human rights.
The 5,119 Chinese voters, representing 32.3 per cent of the electorate, will play the pivotal role of deciding the winner in the by-election. Even more important, they have the historic responsibility to create the "Sanggang Phenomenon" and launch a political movement in Malaysia to redeem the honour of the Chinese community by letting it be known that the Malaysian Chinese is not an easily-duped community which could continue to be misled by lies and falsehoods that the DAP is co-operating with PAS to make the Chinese "an oppressed race" in Malaysia - where the Chinese will have no pork, no alcohol, no temples, no Chinese schools, pretty women cannot find work, there would be chopping of hands and feet together with the loss of other Chinese rights we well.
The lies that are being told in the Sanggang by-election by the Barisan Nasional are really unbelievable - for instance, MCA Mentakab Member of Parliament Fu Ah Kiow even convincing the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi that the Chinese voters in Sanggang had been offered free trips to Kelantan and Terengganu on polling day.
DAP and the Barisan Alternative do not want 5,119 Chinese voters in Sanggang to abstain from voting on Saturday. On the contrary, we want every Chinese voter to vote on Saturday and create the "Sanggang Phenomenon" so that this "Sanggang effect" can be spread from Sanggang on Saturday to all parts of the country in the next four years to demonstrate clearly and unequivocally that the Chinese is not a easily-duped race by lies and falsehoods that the DAP is co-operating with PAS to make the Chinese an ‘oppressed race’ in Malaysia.
DAP is co-operating with PAS, Keadilan and PRM in Barisan Alternative not to create an Islamic State but to create a new Malaysia where there is justice, freedom, democracy and good governance.
Two days ago, President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia, speaking at the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslimat Congress in Jakarta said there was absolutely no need to establish an Islamic state as what was more important was to ensure that Islamic values were upheld.
DAP shares the same outlook and position as Wahid on the upholding of the values of Islam as well as other great religions to be found in Malaysia - Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. If the values taught by all the great religions such as justice, fair play, humility and compassion are practised by the Barisan Nasional government, corruption, cronyism, greed, abuses of power, violation of human rights and fundamental liberties would not have become so prevalent in the country today.
(30/3/2000)