The DAP has never incited hatred whether the Chinese, Indians or Malays against the Barisan Nasional government, although we have never hesitated to exercise our democratic and constitutional right to state and campaign on our disagreements and differences with the Barisan Nasional government on a whole spectrum of political, economic, educational, cultural and citizenship issues.
Why should DAP’s political differences with the Barisan Nasional gvoernment, and our campaign to get popular support for the DAP’s political positions, whether on Vision School, the Damansara Chinese primary school, the Nanyang Press controversy, abolition of the Internal Security Act, restoration of the rule of law, free and fair elections, etc. which is fully within our democratic rights, be regarded as inciting hatred among the Chinese against the government?
Has Mahathir’s democracy degenerated to a stage where differences with the Barisan Nasional government, whether on political, economic, educational, cultural or citizenship issues have become equated with “sedition” and even “subversion”?
If this is the case, the Prime Minister should declare that in the Malaysian system of Barisan Nasional democracy, there is only room for “yes-men” not only inside the Barisan Nasional parties but also outside the ruling coalition and that all dissent is prohibited.
In two weeks’ time, Mahathir would be celebrating his full twenty-year tenure as Malaysian Prime Minister. It is tragic that he had over the years become even more intolerant of dissent so much so that he has become his own as well as the Barisan Nasional government’s biggest enemy!
Under these circumstances, it is most dubious that the appointment of his first Chinese political secretary, Matthias Chiang, is going to help Mahathir better understand the Chinese community, Chinese education and Chinese newspapers, as he has already a preconceived and misconceived mind-set which is not amenable to change by reality.
(29/6/2001)