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Rainstorm of public protest and outrage in the past 48 hours over my idea of exploring the possibility of a merger of DAP and Keadilan if the latter leaves BA, frees itself from subservience to PAS’ Islamic State and signs up to defend Merdeka “social contract” of Malaysia as secular democracy with Islam as official religion but not an Islamic State Media Conference Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Friday): In the past 48 hours, DAP was inundated with a rainstorm of public protest and outrage targeted at me over my idea of exploring the possibility of a merger of DAP and Keadilan if the latter leaves the Barisan Alternative, frees itself from subservience to PAS’ Islamic State and signs up to uphold and preserve the 46-year Merdeka “social contract” of Malaysia as a secular democracy with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic State, whether ala-PAS or ala-UMNO. DAP MPs, State Assemblymen and offices throughout the country received strong and negative reactions to the idea, on the ground that Keadilan cannot be trusted as well as expressing disappointment and outrage that I had betrayed the trust of the people so soon after my re-election to Parliament as MP for Ipoh Timor. Whether right or wrong, I welcome and respect these spontaneous public views and responses, for it represents the best of democracy-in-action where there is a full interaction between the people and political parties on what is in the best interests of the people and country. We should be able to agree to disagree, without doubting each other’s bona fides or sincerity. Let me stress two points from the outset: Firstly, the proposal that there is room to explore fuller co-operation and even the possibility of a merger between DAP and Keadilan if the latter leaves the Barisan Alternative, frees itself from subservience to PAS’ Islamic State and signs up to uphold and preserve the 46-year Merdeka “social contract” of Malaysia as a secular democracy with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic State, whether ala-PAS or ala-UMNO, is my personal idea and not a DAP stand as it has not yet been discussed by the party leadership. Secondly, my stand and that of the DAP that Malaysia was conceived by the nation’s founding fathers as a secular democracy with Islam as the official religion and never meant to be an Islamic State had been a constant and unswerving commitment and conviction for the past 38 years since the founding of the DAP in 1966 – whether before, during or after the DAP’s participation in the Barisan Alternative. There are two reasons prompting my idea of the possibility of exploring a merger of DAP and Keadilan provided the latter leaves the Barisan Alternative, frees itself from subservience to PAS’ Islamic State and signs up to uphold and preserve the 46-year Merdeka “social contract” of Malaysia as a secular democracy. My greatest fear about the 2004 general election is that a landslide Barisan Nasional victory as a result of the new Prime Minister’s effect will be used in later years as a justification and mandate for the support of the “929 Declaration” and jettisoning of the Merdeka “social contract” to allow for a tectonic shift in nation-building from a secular democracy with Islam as the official religion to an increasingly full-fledged Islamic State. The DAP’s win of 12 MPs, particularly the success of the DAP’s Ipoh Timor and Kinta Valley initiative to make Perak the second front-line state, had saved the Merdeka “social contract” but this is only a start to roll back the overwhelming pressures to abandon the Merdeka “social contract” in favour of turning Malaysia into an Islamic State – the beginning of a long, uphill and arduous journey. There are those who believe that the campaign to uphold and preserve the Merdeka “social contract” that Malaysia is a secular democracy with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic state is a lost cause, as exemplified by the following posting by a Malaysian commentator on his website two days ago: “The main difference in the UMNO and PAS version of an Islamic state is the speed with which it would be a reality, not on the substance of what it is: UMNO promises to install PAS's theocratic state in stages while PAS wants it implemented immediately. In other words, the BN coalition which UMNO leads accept the totality of an Islamic state but differ only on how it would be applied. It is not much of a choice. All this election decided is that the Malaysian future is an Islamic one, perhaps as early as 2020, brought in not by discussion and negotiations with the multiracial Malaysia but as a political tit for tat for the Malay ground.” (http://www.mggpillai.com/article.php3?sid=19030) I do not subscribe to such pessimistic or deterministic theory of Malaysia’s future. If Indonesia, with the world’s largest Muslim population comprising 88 per cent of the people or over 200 million Muslims, is not an Islamic state but a secular republic, there is no reason why there should be new law of the inevitability of history that Malaysia must become an Islamic state, “as early as 2020”. Secondly, the very lopsided equation of power in the new Parliament, with Barisan Nasional commandeering an unprecedented nine-tenth parliamentary majority, which is a time-bomb for democracy in Malaysia, bearing in mind the maxim of Lord Acton – “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.” I have said that this proposal of the possibility of exploring a merger between DAP and Keadilan if the latter extricates itself from subservience to PAS’ Islamic State to re-establish the primacy of the Merdeka “social contract” is solely my personal idea, and not a DAP stand, as it has not been discussed by the party leadership. I have thrown it up publicly because it would be good for all Malaysians to examine the idea and take a long and hard look about the options for the future open to Malaysians. Whatever decision the DAP leadership makes on this or other issues, we will take fully into account the views of the public, in particular the DAP supporters. We only ask the public, and in particular DAP supporters, to have trust and faith in the honesty and sincerity of DAP leaders, who have proven that they are men and women of principles and convictions, although they are also capable of errors of judgment. Furthermore, a political party worth its salt must be prepared and be courageous enough to lead and not just to follow – in the interests of the people and nation. However, as Keadilan leaders like Tian Chua have said publicly that Keadilan is not prepared to leave Barisan Alternative, there is no basis or condition for the idea to be pursued further, whether in the DAP or in discussions between the DAP and Keadilan. * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman |