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12 DAP MPs should be professional, specialize, be knowledgeable and seek to be authoritative in the portfolios assigned to them to match the Barisan Nasional juggernaut commanding over 90 per cent of the parliamentary seats with quality of parliamentary debate and performance Speech - at the Conference of DAP MPs and State Assembly members by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Sunday): With the Opposition in Parliament in the recently-held 11th general election reduced to its weakest position in the nation’s 46-year history, the DAP’s 12 Members of Parliament constituting five per cent of total number of 219 MPs must be conscious of their grave  responsibility to improve the quality of their parliamentary performance and debate to match the stifling and suffocating juggernaut of the  Barisan Nasional which commands over 90 per cent of the parliamentary seats.  DAP MPs should be professional, specialize,  be knowledgeable and seek to be authoritative in the portfolio responsibilities  assigned to them, viz:   DAP MPs – allocation of portfolio responsibilities  Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timor)  - IT, Foreign Karpal Singh (Bukit Glugor) – Law, Justice, Internal Security Dr. Tan Seng Giaw (Kepong) –   Globalisation (competitiveness), higher education, agriculture M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat) – Human Resources, Human Rights, Environment Chong Eng (Bukit Mertajam0  –  Health, lower education, mother-tongue education Fong Kui Lun (Bukit Bintang)  – Finance, Economy Tan Kok Wai (Cheras) – Defence, Transport Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjong) – Information, Science, Technology, Local Government, Heritage Teresa Kok (Seputeh) – Housing, Energy, Water, Communications Fong Po Kuan (Batu Gajah) -  Civil Service, Women, Youth Lim Hock Seng (Bagan) – Works, Tourism Chong Chien Jen (Bandar Kuching) – Plantation Industries, Commodites DAP MPs should immediately set upon the following tasks with regard to the portfolio responsibilities assigned to them:  Specialize in their respective subjects by reading them, “picking the brains” of the experts in the field, so that they can debate knowledgeably and effectively in Parliament, to be regarded as an authority in the field at the end of the parliamentary term; Set up a committee on their respective subjects, comprising DAP State Assembly members, non-elected representatives in the party, as well as non-DAP Malaysians well-versed in the subject, to conduct greater in-depth study and come out with position papers; Educate party leaders and rank-and-file on the subject; and Organize  public dialogues, seminars or conferences to ensure greater public involvement in the nation’s decision-making process in various policy fields and public-interest issues and to raise greater public awareness. DAP MPs and State Assembly members must be exemplars of the new information society and be fully committed to the ethos of lifelong education, never ceasing to improve themselves, the party and the nation  so that Malaysia can move purposefully towards a fully developed nation with a “First World Infrastructure, First World Mentality”. (25/4/2004) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman & Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor