LKS Series #2
10 June 2007
Dear Sir,
Lim Kit Siang “dropped” from “Cabinet” Line Up
Sunday 5th October 1986. DAP announced it’s “Cabinet Line Up” to the people of Malaysia. Lim Kit Siang, the Secretary-General was not in the list. No reasons were given. When the Press asked a spokeslady (in a wheelchair) from the Party as to why LKS was not considered for a “cabinet” post, they were asked to refer the matter to the CEC.
Meanwhile the following “Ministers” with their respective “portfolios” were announced.
1) Tanjong Aru MP, Heng Yick Yin, “Minister” of Culture, Youth and Sports.
2) Tawau MP, Samson Ching Chee Tsu, “Minister” of Energy, Posts and Telecommunications.
3) Bandar Kuching MP, Sim Kwang Yang, “Minister” of Finance.
4) Kampar MP Ngoi Theam Woh, “Minister” of Health.
5) Pasir Pinji MP Lau Dak Kee, “Minister” of Transport
6) Batu Gajah MP, Ting Chek Meng. “Minister” of Public Works.
7) Sungai Besi MP, Tan Kok Wai, “Minister” of Social Welfare and Federal Territory.
8) Petaling Jaya MP, Dr Eng Seng Chai “Minister” of Primary Industries.
9) Puchong MP, Dr V. David, “Minister” of Labour and Human Resources.
10) Seputeh MP, Liew Ah Kim, “Minister” of Housing and Local Government.
11) Bagan MP, Teoh Teik Huat, “Minister” of Trade and Industries.
12) Bayan Baru MP, Peter Paul Dason, “Minister” of Defence .
13) Bukit Bendera MP, Gooi Hock Seng, “Minister” of Foreign Affairs.
14) Seremban MP, Dr Chen Man Hin, “Minister” of Education.
15) Kepong MP, Dr Tan Seng Giaw, “Minister” of Agriculture
16) Jelutong MP, Karpal Singh, “Minister” of Justice
17) Bukit Bintang MP, Lee Lam Thye, “Minister” in the Prime Minister’s Department.
18) Ipoh MP, P. Patto, “Minister” of Home Affairs.
19) Bukit Mertajam MP, Chian Heng Kai, “Minister” National and Rural Development.
20) Rasah MP, Hu Sepang, “Minister” of Information.
21) Kota Melaka MP, Lim Guan Eng, “Minister” of Economic Affairs.
22) Sandakan MP, Fung Ket Wing, “Minister” of Public Enterprises.
23) Gaya MP, Math Lee Min, “Minister of Science, Technology and Environment.
24) Sibu MP, Ling Sie Ming, “ Minister without Portfolio”
Yours truly
Anonymous
Editor’s note: The posts of “prime minister”and “deputy prime minister” have not been named.
Colour-blind 
June 11, 2007 at 12:34 pm |
A cainet without malay minister is a non-starter.Not surprising it die a natural death.Even now dap cannot name malay minister,unless they wake up and work with pas.Dap can see far,but blind close up.The rakyat is better off if dap is disbanded and bn will loss its valuable bogey man.
June 11, 2007 at 2:13 pm |
Working with Pas is not a viable or proper alternative to including Malay presence and participation in the ‘Shadow Cabinet’. DAP is right to disavow any official links with Pas. Cooperation with Pas takes place within the context of a broad consensus on major issues like good governance, corruption, accountability, repeal of ISA (leaving the Emergency Ordinance intact), etc.
Pas must never be allowed to rule Malaysia. Right now, PKR ‘from the inside’ and DAP ‘from the outside’ is acting as a check and balance against Pas. Yes, Pas needs to be checked and balanced, not just BN.
June 11, 2007 at 6:22 pm |
In one of my previous comments I’ve noted that no one is indispensable and that includes DAP’s very own Lim Kit Siang. So this is not a surprise to me.
At a glance through, it looked like PAP’s list of cabinet ministers …… the shadow cabinet does not reflect a true multi-racial shadow cabinet as it should. This is why many of us here have been asking the DAP to recruit potential Malay candidates for the next GE and also more Malay members at the grassroot level of the party. The ingredients for a Malaysian First concept will never realise if the Malays are left out it this formulation. I wonder if DAP have a “biro hal ehwal orang Melayu” or “biro kebajikan orang Melayu” or something to that effect. I think it is time DAP start to venture into unknown territories to help secure a bigger mandate of support from the RAKYAT, mainly the Malays. PAS have established Kelab Penyokong PAS and have published a sort of monthly newsletter/newspaper in Mandarin similar to that of the Harakkah. So even PAS is seeking out a different segment of support i.e. non-Muslims and non Malays. Why isn’t DAP doing something similar? What happen to DAPTV project? DAP members must question the CEC and pressure the CEC to formulate policies, strategies and activities that will help the party to be more universally accepted by ALL MALAYSIANS. It may be a little too late now as the next GE is approaching. But DAP members in general must give a long and serious thought if they want the party to survive politically in the long term period. Unless you want to end up like PPP – Pitiful Pathetic Party or IPF – Idiotic Pathetic Fools or some of the less known parties in east Malaysia. The choice is yours!
June 11, 2007 at 7:18 pm |
The problem is not that DAP is not reaching out to the Malays … the perennial problem for the DAP in relation to recruiting Malays and expanding its Malay support base is the lack of specificities in their programmes or policies for the Malays as a specific community … It’s wrong to say that the DAP is not interested broadening its appeal to the Malays. They have … the problem is that the DAP is coming from an Opposition perspective rather than a government-in-waiting unlike its predecessor, the PAP.
Mohd Nor Jetty was one of the earliest DAP leaders, in the wake of Singapore’s Separation and the reconstitution of the PAP in Malaysia as DAP. He was National Vice-Chairman. Daeng Ibrahim (a Johorean) was in the 1970s the DAP’s highest ranking Malay leader (also National Vice Chairman, head of the Malay Affairs Bureau, DAP Perak Deputy Chairman, and should DAP have won enough seats at the state assembly the candidate tipped to Menteri Besar). Mohd Fadzlan Yahya was a prominent state-level leader in Perak, especially north and central. He was also state DAPSY chairman and full-time party worker and former SA.
Mohd Asri Othman was another DAP Perak Malay strongman and a lawyer. Unfortunately, the MDP fellas under Mr. Wee Choo Keong (former MP for Bukit Bintang) influenced him to leave the party. Ibrahim Singgeh and Nakhoda Salleh Itam represented the Orang Asli in Perak and were cadres in the Party. Yeap Ghim Guan, former Penang Chairman and a founding leader of the SDP, the ‘forerunner’ of the MDP had his Malay supporters.
Don’t ever forget that in the heyday of the late Sdr. Ahmad Nor, National Vice-Chairman and Penang Deputy Chairman, and former MP for Bayan Baru, the DAP had at least 5-6 candidates, at least 4 of which were in Umno constituencies. Abdul Rahman Manap did not lose his deposit when he stood against AI in Permatang Pauh. None of the candidates lost their deposits. Sdr. Ahmad Nor was instrumental in setting up the DAP Melayu Coordinating Committee to reach out to the penang Malays in preparation for the Battle for Tanjung 3 to wrest the state government from BN. The Committee assisted the residents of Kampung Makam, Datuk Keramat state constituency, Jelutong on the issue of the tanah wakaf. Sdr. Ahmad Nor was reported also to have made headway in the Tanjung Bungah area of which Dr. Koh is the representative in the hope that this will pave the way for a swing from the Malay voters. Sdr. Ahmad had written extensively concerning his plans and programme for the Malays which were reported in an independent political newspaper. I think it’s no lnoger around.
Apart from Penang, Perak, Pahang also had quite a few Malay members and supporters. A Malay candidate stood against Lim Ah Lek.
In Johor, we have Enche dan Sdr. Ahmad Ton who has been unwavering and steadfast in his commitment to stand against political giants in Labis.
And of course there are many other Malay comrades which I do not know and have not mentioned.
At the end of the day, it’s not whether the DAP is reaching out. THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE.
The issue is what concrete programme has the DAP in store for the Malays as a community, whose communal rights are specifically defined in the Constitution and who constitutes the majority of the Malaysian peoples. Now this question is inextricably linked and inseparably turns upon the issue of ‘blue-print’ and vision of development for ALL Malaysians.
The DAP has got the fundamentals and broad outline right. It’s just the specifics and precise details which needs to be worked out, pursuing roughly the path which the PAP tenaciously set out and which proved the right decision to take …..
June 11, 2007 at 8:04 pm |
The DAP is actually in a dilemma, at one level at least, it is Chinese-based multi-racial party and therefore its attention devoted to specific Malay issues unlike the defence by Sdr. Lim Guan Eng, our S-G of an underaged Malay girl, granddaughter of Puan Pendek Ahmad has to be ‘proportional’ and therefore ‘incremental’, in commensuration to its support and confidence placed by the Malays. It has to do that whilst at all times and always maintain the bedrock of its support which is the urban Chinese voters. It has to come out with policies which steers clear of ‘bumiputeraism’, i.e. affirmative action favouring only one community irrespective of status and condition in the economic sphere which cuts into its projection as champion of multiracial equality with which the DAP has become synonymous with; and at same time present its programmes as a viable alternative to Umno’s …
June 11, 2007 at 8:26 pm |
The 1986 parliamentary results for the DAP … those were the days … I could only ‘experience’ that period through Asiaweek magazine (since i was still quite young) … its write-up, analyses and pictures … may the DAP repeat its 1986 performance! 1986 was also the year Sdr. Ahmad Nor was officially invited to join the DAP, or rather more precisely in time for the election as the candidate for Gopeng if I’m not mistaken. Our fallen comrades, Sdrs. P. patto, V. David and Peter Paul Dason, stalwarts of the Party are no longer with us, but their spirit and struggle lives on …………..!
Majulah DAP! Majulah Malaysia!
June 11, 2007 at 8:40 pm |
Pas should just concentrate on winning the Malay heartlands in Kelantan and Terengganu to act as a restrain on Federal-State relations and challenge the further erosion of the State powers in favour of the Central government. But its brand of politics is unsuitable for Malaysia not least because of the multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious composition of Malaysia. What the country needs now is reforms starting from the ground up, with the restoration of local and municipal elections – the third vote, a smaller central government, the formation of royal commissions as per according to the Constitution in various capacities” special position of Malays and other Natives, independent ACA, police watchdog, reversing Mahathir’s weakening of the Malay ruler’s status (Raja Nazrin comes to mind), — let there be a fourth pillar of Government in Malaysia in addition to the executive, legislative and judiciary, the Conference of Malay Rulers as the Protector, Custodian and Guardian of Malay special rights, Islam as the official religion, Bahasa Malaysia as the national language … the commission will be multi-racial, independent of the executive and reports directly to the Conference …….
June 11, 2007 at 9:42 pm |
The Indians are over-represented in the PAP Singapore Cabinet; the President RS Nathan is of course Indian. Two rising stars: Tharmanshanmugaratnam and Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan. Not only in the Cabinet, but overall in terms of MPs .. Inderjit Singh, Dr. Balaji Sidavasan, etc. Malay MPs of course are proportional to the population of their community. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim is the highest ranking leader in Government and Community, taking on the mantle of hispredecessors like Ahmad Ibrahim (close confidant of MM Lee, former health and Labour Minister, ex-Penang Free, trade unionist), Haji Yaacob Mohamed (anak Kelantan, ex-Umno Singapura), Rahim Ishak (brother of Yusof Ishak, first President of Singapura and Aziz Ishak, the Agriculture and Cooperative minister under TAR), Othman Wok (Minister of Agriculture and PAP strongman), Haji Rahmat Kenap, Sidek Sanif, Ahmad Matar (Arab Malay), Abdullah Tarmugi, etc. ,etc.
June 12, 2007 at 2:36 pm |
Tanjung Petir,
Though I appreciate the history lesson, you have totally missed my point and I’m not in the mood to explain and clarify further. I’m a bit under the weather today.
June 12, 2007 at 8:48 pm |
Dear KS
Get rested and keep posting.We need more contribution from open minded people without baggages of the past.Glory or shame,past is past,lets get over it and act NOW.
June 13, 2007 at 1:34 pm |
KSTAN, I’m afraid you have missed my point. I was explaining to you that your question is wrong-headed and the proper question should have been what are the policies and programmes in store for the Malays. Sorry that you should be so emotional in the wrong way and manner. Your energies should be better concentrated towards providing input towards formulating and crafting concrete policies and programmes for the Malays, if you really and sincerely care for them.
And sampalee, what baggage of the past are you talking about? Who is the one with the baggage when I am pointing your attention and KS’s attention to the unsung heroes – the non-Chinese figures in the Party, mind you – of the past. Have you and KS no sense of remembrance?
Reflect about it …
June 14, 2007 at 2:09 pm |
Jason Loh a.k.a Tanjung Petir,
Since I’m back on my feet today, I’ll clarify my stand today. Firstly I was not being emotional as I was really not feeling well! Please read my previous posting again. Ahmad Nor will be remembered for his many contributions in Penang and in the DAP. This goes for the others which you have mentioned in your previous outburst of “history lesson.” I’m not disputing that nor am I unappreciative of their work, contributions and sacrifices these once brave and courageous people have done.
You should be aware that there is a paradigm of shift in today’s local politics. Instead of focusing on a niche segmented voters market of the society in terms of race or religion which was mainly practise in past by political parties, hence being label a Chinese party” or Malay party; it is better and more profitable to be multi-racial or at least putting on a multiracial “cloak.” In my opinion, the rational behind this paradigm of shift could be because:-
1. Widening one’s political support base and spreading out your support risk. Relying particularly on one segment of the society could be very risky if the majority of this segment of voters decides to vote for an alternative. In theory, it would be better to spread out your risk by having a few segments of voters instead of just relaying on one segment of voters alone. To do this one must first have a multi-racial outlook to entice and attract other segments of the society.
2. The increase of mixed seats. There generally seems to be more mixed seats, be it in the parliamentary seats or state seats nowadays. BN has a stronghold on the majority of these mixed seats and if the opposition wishes to take over these seats, they must be able to attract the various communities in those areas. Hence being multi-racial is to be more accepted and more approachable to areas such as these and increases your chances in winning such seats.
3. Instrumental for nation building. It is important to display a multi-racial outlook to reflect a party’s stance of “true nation building.” Although Malaysia is predominantly a sectarian country, the people in general still do desire the idealistic concept of a “Bangsa Malaysia.” A multi-racial party is seen as selling this sort of dream/concept to the public and it is generally and widely acceptable by all segments of the society.
4. Rising popularity. There seem to be an unproven notion that being multi-racial in nowadays may gain you popularity amongst voters. Popularity may win you electoral votes in the future.
Here are just only 4 reasons out of many other reasons in rationalising the recent paradigm of shift. But of course my reasons are subjected to arguments and can be easily rebutted. They are merely opinions nevertheless. They may look good in theory but may not be practical in reality. My reasons are based from personal observations and derived through a series of logical and rational deductions.
Take PKR for instance, though multiracial on the outside but it is still very much a predominantly Malay party on the inside. But how come many have described it as a multiracial party? This is because PKR made changes and repackage itself as a multiracial party. I remembered at one time when PKR was labelled as a party full of UMNO rejects i.e. a Malay party. This of course was some years back. But now PKR is gaining universal acceptance and support from across the segments of the local community. A more universal acceptance also means that your political party have broaden the support based and this “may” transfer into votes for the next GE. There are more “mixed seats” nowadays and it is the mixed seats constituency that PKR have been contesting most of the time. PKR stands to perform better in the next GE.
PAS have established Kelab Penyokong PAS and have published a sort of monthly newsletter/newspaper in Mandarin similar to that of the Harakkah. Although generally speaking PAS do not contest in mixed seats or others seats that are predominantly non-Malay seats, PAS have come to recognized that non-Malay/non-Muslim votes may give them the winning edge in cases where the Malay votes are split up.
Now back to my point. DAP must accept this paradigm of shift and take a leap on this new bandwagon if it is to survive on the new battle field. Each election is a new ballgame so to speak and one cannot use past performances and past outcomes as the primary basis of predicting future outcomes and forming new strategies based on such historical information. It is vital that the DAP observe changing trends and fads in order to comprehend and have a better understanding on the changing environment and not just mainly being routinely rhetorical.
The only way for the DAP to change this is to recruit Malay and non-Chinese members and repackage themselves to be more universally accepted and hence broaden their support base. If the DAP had a broader support base, it wouldn’t have done so badly in the 1999 GE. The DAP also will have more options in places where they wish to contest and campaign as there are less predominantly Chinese seats in urban areas nowadays. Apart from that I think the DAP should also form a “focus groups” and “test groups” consisting of mostly Malays from all walks of live and backgrounds to find out or ascertain how can they better approach the Malay community and how can they appeal to Malays and to recruit more of them in the near future.
June 15, 2007 at 10:02 am |
KS Tan,
You should understand that the DAP has always been multi-racial in its composition and outlook, but the you have to face the political; reality, something which you are unable or unwilling to grasp. Take PKR for example. The recent national congress has seen as dilution or decrease in the number of non-Malay, especially Chinese representation in the leadership. PKR IS a Malay-based party and will have to becareful not to espouse issues which will alienate or create doubts in the mind of Malay (read Muslim) voters.
As I have said before, it’s NOT about reaching out to the Malays, but what kind of policies and programmes the DAP has in store for the Malays as A COMMUNITY. Remember, the Malays historically were the most backward community. This is one reason why the special position was inserted into the Constitution. It’s no point harping on the DAP not broadening its appeal when the Malay themselves, rightfully wants to know how is the DAP going to assist in their development.
You have written a lot about paradigm shift, not knowing that the DAP itself is the very embodiment of the progressive paradigm rejected by the then Alliance as to radical and premature! The PAP’s brand of politics was rejected by the Umno as ‘too fast’ and too’ head on’ in achieving racial harmony and unity. This is why Singapore had to separate from Malaysia in the first place.
I am trying to reason with you that a more constructive approach is to offer solutions and viewpoints on how the DAP can present an alternative programme to the Malays. The Malays, you must understand are in a different scenario than the non-Malays partly because of the current political climate created by Umno. Reaching out to the Malays is different from reaching out to the Chinese and Indians and other Natives for that matter. Religion is one crucial factor.
Another thing is working with Pas is emphatically not the solution for the DAP to shed its ‘anti-Malay’ image. That would be suicide! The DAP is unapologetic about its non-racial, Malaysia First stance. We need to preserve our ideals and vision intact and untainted, and at same time reflect the political reality on the ground. Without these two, the DAP might as well sink into oblivion not because it did not cooperate formally with Pas, but precisely because it did in the first place. And you have a GE to prove the case in point!
April 15, 2008 at 10:56 pm |
Hello from sunny England,
I’m writing a paper on politics of Malaysia/Singapore Govt. and stumbled on this site.
I’m surprised at the overtly prejudiced remarks publicly made on racial issues in the region by the contributors here.
I’ve studied the race riots of 1964 and 1969 carefully and it seems to me there has been less progress on rascism in government policies in the region.
That’s a shame, because Malaysia and Singapore are one of the few countries who have made substantial progress out of 3rd world strife.
December 8, 2009 at 6:00 pm |
Yes!
Absolutely shocking and disgraceful.
Do these people realise how very rascist their comments are.
June 18, 2009 at 2:03 am |
[…] continuously there is no Malay office bearers in the composition of DAP Leaders. This pattern is exactly like how the Malays are regarded in Singaporean politics. At best, […]
April 2, 2010 at 5:19 am |
Hola everybody, Happy April Fool’s Day!!
A carpenter in Chelm is fixing the roof, but as he works, he throws away about half the nails. The mayor is passing by, and asks him why he’s wasting so many nails. The carpenter answers, “I take a nail out of the bag, and if it’s facing the roof, I use it; if it’s facing away, I know it’s defective and throw it away.”
The mayor tells him, “You fool! Those are for the other side!!”
Happy April Fool’s Day!
April 8, 2010 at 11:10 pm |
John Taylor, what racist comments were you referring to? Do you know anything about what you’re writing about in the first place?
April 8, 2010 at 11:17 pm |
One more thing, John Taylor, you had better sort out the bloody mess your country is in because of its membership in the EU. I’m glad I’m not in your position. Pretty soon England will be broken up into “regions”and Westminster will end up being nothing more than a glorified county council.
But you’re not a Christian, a Protestant are you? So, you’re ignorant of your own history and tradition. What a shame.
I hereby denounce the EU as the modern manifestation of the Holy Roman Empire which the 16th Reformation, including the English Reformation under Abp Thomas Cranmer broke away by the power of the Gospel of justification by faith alone.
November 16, 2011 at 10:57 pm |
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[…]25 DAP MPs and “Shadow Cabinet” in 1986 « Colour-blind[…]…
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