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DAP planning at least eight series of visits and consultations to ensure that DAP MPs and SAs will be more effective elected representatives in the coming five years

Speech (2)
- at the Conference of DAP MPs and State Assembly members
by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya, Sunday): DAP is planning at least eight series of visits and consultations to ensure that the 12 DAP MPs and the 15 State Assembly members elected on March 21, 2004 (DAP has a total of 16 State Assembly representatives, including DAP Sarawak State Assemblyman for Kidurong, Chiew Chin Sing elected in September 2001) will be more effective elected representatives in the coming  five years. 

These eight series of visits/consultations are to: 

  1. Government  departments;
  2. Ministers;
  3. State Governments;
  4. Media, printed as well as electronic, mainstream as well as alternative;
  5. Foreign Missions;
  6. NGOs, professional organizations, guilds and associations, chambers of commerce, etc.
  7. ASEAN countries; and
  8. nation-wide “turun padang” “meet-the-people” sessions.

DAP MPs and State Assembly members have a great responsibility in the next five years as party standard-bearers, and they must be fully conscious of their triple tasks to tend to their respective constituencies to attend to the problems faced by their constituents, party-building and nation-building. 

A DAP MP or State Assembly member who failed in any one of these three triple tasks would have failed in the trust and duties which the party and people had placed on him or her as MP or State Assembly representative. 

This is why the DAP has formed a five-member DAP MPs/SAs supervisory committee which was announced by the DAP Acting Secretary-General M. Kulasegaran two weeks ago to set benchmarks and indicators for performance by  DAP MPs/SAs, and to monitor and submit regular reports to the DAP Central Executive Committee to ensure that DAP MPs/SAs are always up to the mark and on their toes. 

The DAP MPs/SAs Supervisory Committee is headed by Nga Hock Cheh, Chairman of Perak DAP Legal Bureau, and comprises vice chairman Hor Cheok Foon (former MP), secretary Chan Su Sann, and committee members Danny Law (former Penang State Assemblyman) and Abdul Rahman Said Alli. 

The DAP MPs/SAs Supervisory Committee has a very onerous  task to ensure that the DAP MPs and SAs live up to the party and people’s expectations and all DAP elected representatives should give their full support and co-operation to the committee to make the 2004 batch of MPs and SAs a model team. 

One of the greatest challenges of the eleventh Parliament elected on March 21, 2004 is to  restore the doctrine of the separation of powers between the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary which had suffered grievous injury  in the past two decades  and return Parliament to its rightful place as the highest political chamber of the land, where the burning issues of the people are given full debate and ventilation.  Among the subjects  that should be the focus of the coming Parliament are: 

  • parliamentary reform
  • national competitiveness
  • education
  • health care
  • IT
  • environment
  • human rights
  • good governance

 

(25/4/2004)

* Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman & Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor