In tribute of Dr. Chen Man Hin (3) – “Malaysia needs more Dr. Chen Man Hins”

The President of Dewan Negara, Tan Sri Dr. Rais Yatim said that Malaysia needs more political leaders like Dr. Chen Man Hin as it will make the country a better place.

While expressing his condolences over the death of Dr. Chen, Rais said they were from the same political era in the seventies and knew each other since l978 when he was the Negeri Sembilan Mentri Besar.

Rais said Dr. Chen was a leader who fought for racial unity and was a genuine politician who acted as a balancing force between the DAP and the government.

Rais rightly said that Dr. Chen cared about racial diversity and anti-racism.

It was my privilege in my five decades of political work to be in the company of Dr. Chen, Karpal Singh, P. Patto, Fan Yew Teng, Chiang Heng Kai, Chan Kok Kit, Lau Dak Kee and many others to fight for Malaysian Malaysia and the Malaysian Dream.

Malaysia is a nation of diverse languages, religions and cultures and to find unity in diversity, it is important for Malaysia to adopt a nation-building policy of integration instead of assimilation.

This is the first great battle that was fought in the first 30 years of the DAP and it is a tribute to the commitment, dedication and sacrifices of the early batch of DAP leaders, members and supporters that the Prime Minister of Malaysia acknowledged in the mid-nineties that integration and not assimilation was the best nation-building policy for a plural society like Malaysia.

But the Malaysian Dream has not been achieved yet.

The best way to remember Dr. Chen is to continue the Malaysian Dream journey, and as Rais said – “Let there be more Dr. Chen Man Hins in Malaysia!”