Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling
Jaya
on Thursday, 31st July 2008:
Why not Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat talks instead of
Umno-Pas talks if top national priority is to save Malaysia from being a
"failed state" and establish that we are Malaysians first and Malays,
Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans, Orang Asli second and not vice versa?
Who would have thought that the RM100 million spent last year to
celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations proved to be so
short-lived and ephemeral, making so little impact on the Malaysian
psyche and nation-building process to unite all citizens with the common
sentiment and vision that they are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese,
Indians, Kadazans, Ibans and Orang Asli second!
This is why one of the fundamental questions confronting Malaysians
today is: -
Why not Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat talks instead of Umno-Pas
talks if the top national priority is to save Malaysia from being a
"failed state" and establish that on the eve of the 51st Merdeka
anniversary, we are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese, Indians,
Kadazans, Ibans, Orang Asli second and not vice versa?
This is particularly pertinent as the great challenges of Malaysian
nation-building today concerning justice, freedom, solidarity, integrity
and progress can only be addressed in an effective and meaningful manner
through BN-PR talks and not through Umno-Pas talks.
The proposal by the PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
that the implementation of Islamic hudud and qisas laws, among other
things, be the basis of Umno-PAS co-operation and even merger, has
raised serious concerns.
It is not only against the well-known position of the DAP, running
counter to the secular character of the founding national "social
contract" and Merdeka Constitution publicly upheld by the first three
Prime Ministers, but also contrary to the fundamental commitment of
Pakatan Rakyat to uphold the rights and interests of all Malaysians,
regardless of race and religion, as enshrined in the Constitution.
The foremost challenges facing Malaysia today is not one of race or
religion but whether we can harness and mobilize the talents, resources
and energies of all Malaysians as one dynamic, vigorous and progressive
entity to stop the nation from becoming a failed state like Zimbabwe and
Myanmar when half a century ago, we were the second most developed
nation in Asia after Japan.
*
Lim
Kit Siang, DAP
Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor
http://dapmalaysia.org