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Merdeka Stadium and National Stadium - the fifth injustice and disservice in a week to the memory and legacy of Tunku on birthday centenary commemoration - Cabinet and not PNB should designate them national heritage and monuments Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya Wednesday): Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Monday announcement at the "100 Years Remembering the Birth of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra: The Father of Malaysia and Founder of Racial Unity" seminar organized by the National Archives and the Culture, Arts and Tourism Ministry in Kuala Lumpur that the historic Merdeka Stadium, where Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaimed Independence, and its covered companion, National Stadium, would be preserved as stadiums should be an occasion for national rejoicing as it seemed to represent a belated but welcome government decision to recognize them as "national heritage" and "national monuments". Surprisingly, Abdullah's announcement was largely ignored, whether by the media or Barisan Nasional Cabinet Ministers, and only one newspaper group gave it secondary place on its front-page yesterday with the headline "Thank God, a national heritage is saved" and a secondary editorial today entitled "Saving Heritage". The low-key media coverage of this announcement, which failed to create any waves, is quite surprising. However, anyone who takes the trouble to study the manner and circumstances in which the two historic stadiums were "saved" from demolition cannot but conclude that Abdullah's announcement was in fact the fifth injustice and disservice to the memory and legacy of Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj in a week on the occasion of his birthday centenary. Firstly, Merdeka Stadium and National Stadium were "saved" from demolition not because of any government or Cabinet recognition of their status as "national heritage" and "national monuments" but because of a pure fortuitous set of circumstances completely unrelated to these developments. In 1994, the government had granted the UMNO proxy company, United Engineers Bhd (UEM), the right to demolish the two stadiums and develop the site into a Plaza Merdeka, a RM1 billion complex of office blocks, a retail and shopping complex and entertainment centre, condominiums and leisure facilities, including a park, and an amphitheater designed for cultural and social events that can seat 8,000 on a 13-hectare site. Merdeka Stadium, National Stadium and the Changkat Pavilion were handed to UEM in exchange for building the RM800 million National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil for the 1998 Commonwealth Games. However, UEM had to defer plans to redevelop the site for the RM1 billion Plaza Merdeka because of the economic downturn, which postponed the fate of the historic stadiums from the ignominy of demolition. When UEM tottered under its astronomical debts with the deepening of the financial crisis, the site occupied by Merdeka Stadium, National Stadium and Changkat Pavilion were acquired by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) through Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd. As PNB had no financial capability to proceed with the billion-ringgit Plaza Merdeka project, it agreed with the Ministry of Sports in 2001 to allow the two stadiums to continue to be used for sporting events in the meantime. In his speech on Monday, Abdullah said: "I have been informed that PNB has acquired Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara, which it intends to maintain as stadiums." At a press conference later, Abdullah said the projects to redevelop the stadium area had failed to get off the grounds in recent years. "PNB feels the stadiums need to be preserved and it is capable of doing it. Moreover, the buildings are regarded as a national heritage." On whether Stadium Merdeka would be gazetted as a national monumument, Abdullah said: "You have to ask PNB that." (New Straits Times 11.2.03) From Abdullah's speech and press conference remarks, the following are clear: What Abdullah did on Monday was merely to state the present factual situation - their current preservation as stadiums, as PNB has no financial capability to proceed with the original RM1 billion Plaza Merdeka project. There is no commitment by PNB that it has abandoned the RM1 billion Plaza Merdeka project, which would involve the demolition of the two stadiums, nor any commitment that in any development project of the site in future , whether Plaza Merdeka or any other modified plan, a firm commitment that the two stadiums would not be affected and demolished. Neither the Cabinet nor the government had made any decision to confer on the two stadiums the status of "National Heritage" or "National Monuments". Abdullah personally regards the two stadiums as "a national heritage", not backed by law, gazette or any other administrative action. This is why it has become the fifth injustice and disservice in the past week to the memory and legacy of Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj on the occasion of his birthday centenary, the other four instances being: Government forgetting about the birthday centenary of Tunku Abdul Rahman until reminded by the DAP a month ago. The hasty and most disrespectful organization of the government's birthday centenary commemoration for Tunku. This is why Pos Malaysia is not ready to launch the commemorative stamp in conjunction with Tunku's birthday centenary on February 8, as it would only be ready on March 3. The big flop of the "100 Years Remembering the Birth of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra: The Father of Malaysia and Founder of Racial Unity" seminar on Monday. After the opening speech by Abdullah, only one quarter of the crowd was left after the tea-break for the first session, with less than one-fifth of the crowd remaining for the second session after lunch, raising the question as to whether the .some 800 people who were present at the opening of the seminar by Abdullah had gathered to honour the memory, contribution and legacy of Bapa Malaysia or to honour the next Prime Minister of Malaysia! In the first session on "Tunku Abdul Rahman: Bapa Kemerdekaan", one of the panellists, Datuk Dr. Ramlah Adam of University of Malaya questioned Tunku's credentials as Bapa Kemerdekaan. I respect Ramlah's academic freedom of opinion, but the question that must be asked is whether the objective of the government seminar on Monday was to pay tribute or to question Tunku's credentials as "Bapa Kemerdekaan". It is not too late for the government to make amends for these uncalled-for and totally indefensible injustices and disservice to Tunku's memory and legacy on the occasion of his birthday centenary, and the first thing that could be done is for the Cabinet , and not a private entity, to designate Merdeka Stadium and National Stadium as national heritage and monuments and to gazette them under the National Heritage Act and by a special resolution of Parliament - as well as submission to UNESCO for recognition. In this way, there can be no doubt about the permanent status of the two historic stadiums as national heritage and monuments - as at present, the PNB has neither recognized nor has it the powers to recognise the two stadiums as national heritage and monuments. Furthermore, the current position could be easily altered and nullified either through the closure of PNB or the transfer of ownership of the site to another company. (12/2/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman