Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 29.6.2014.
The 3 new MCA and Gerakan Ministers should demand that Cabinet rejects the implementation of hudud laws during their first cabinet meeting on Wednesday and that Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi apologise for calling the Chinese ungrateful during the Teluk Intan by-election and that DAP Sri Delima ADUN RSN Rayer deserved the cow’s head attack on Rayer’s home in Penang. MCA and Gerakan had publicly opposed the implementation of hudud laws and criticised Ahmad Zahid for condoning the cow head attack on Rayer’s home by saying that this was the price Rayer had to pay for being a “big mouth.”
What is the point of becoming a Cabinet Minister if they remain silent and dare not speak up in Cabinet meetings what they had loudly opposed outside in the press? This is similar to the Selangor UMNO Opposition Leader stating that UMNO’s motion in the Selangor State Assembly to study the implementation of hudud laws in Selangor was conveyed to MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong who had kept quiet.
All 3 new MCA and Gerakan Cabinet Ministers should then report to the public whether they raised up these issues and what is the Cabinet’s decision. There is no point for MCA Deputy President Datuk Wee Ka Siong to claim that they got lesser representation in Cabinet because MCA got lesser Chinese support in the last general elections. Such logic is immature and perverse because it is akin to punishing the voters for failing to get their support.
If getting more support from Chinese voters is the yardstick for gettting more Cabinet posts, then MCA should explain the reasons why when they won big in the 1999 and 2004 general elections, and yet the number of Cabinet posts for MCA remained at four. Chinese voters even saved UMNO from defeat when a majority of Malay voters rejected UMNO and supported PAS and PKR in the 1999 general elections.
But yet the number of Cabinet positions for MCA did not increase but remained the same at four in 1999 and 2004 general elections. By right if MCA still gets 4 Ministers despite winning big then they should still remain at four when they lose. This clearly proves once again that it is UMNO’s dominance that matters not how much support obtained by MCA. UMNO’s dominance is emphasised further when MCA MPs who won in the 2013 general elections were not appointed Deputy Ministers but those who were rejected by the voters instead were appointed Senators and Deputy Ministers through the “back door”.
Cabinet Ministers should be evaluated and assessed based on policy understanding, ability, performance and effectiveness to embrace the future by bringing about reforms. As long as MCA and Gerakan can not change policy under the shadow of UMNO’s dominance, it does not matter to the public how many Ministers they have for it is not the public but MCA leaders who benefit by enjoying the perks and privileges of Ministerial office.
LIM GUAN ENG
—–Mandarin Version —
民主行动党秘书长兼峇眼区国会议员林冠英于2014年6月29日在吉隆坡发表声明：
三名新任马华及民政党的部长应该要在星期三的第一次内阁会议上，拒绝推行伊斯兰刑事法，并叫阿末扎希为其言论郑重道歉。阿末扎希在安顺补选期间指华人不感恩，在行动党斯里德里玛区州议员雷尔住家被丢掷牛头后，说他咎由自取。
三名新任马华及民政党的部长应该要在星期三的第一次内阁会议拒绝伊斯兰刑事法，并叫内政部长阿末扎希为其言论郑重道歉。阿末扎希在安顺补选期间指华人不感恩，在行动党斯里德里玛区州议员雷尔住家被丢掷牛头后，说他咎由自取。马华及民政党也曾公开反对伊斯兰刑事法及批评阿末扎希默许恶徒在雷尔住家丢掷牛头的做法，指后者咎由自取，是乱讲话必须付出的代价。
如果他们在内阁会议不敢说话、保持沉默，那么，他们在外面大声反对有什么意义？这与雪兰莪巫统反对党领袖说，巫统在雪州议会提呈研究在雪州推行伊斯兰刑事法可行性的法案之前，曾告知马华总会长廖中莱，但后者保持沉默。
三名新任马华及民政党内阁部长应该向公众交代，他们是否曾提出这些议题？内阁的决定是什么？马华署理总会长魏家祥一直说他们在内阁代表性越来越少，是因为华人在上届大选的支持率低所导致，这是不成熟及不正当的逻辑，这形容在得不到选民的支持后还反过来惩罚他们。
如果说华人支持率高，他们才能获得更多内阁部长职，那么，马华应该解释，1999年及2004年马华大胜时，为何他们所得到的内阁部长职仍旧只有四个？华人选民甚至在1999年大选时保住了巫统的江山，当时就连马来选民都拒绝了巫统、支持伊斯兰党及公正党。
相反，马华的内阁部长职并没有增加，在1999年及2004年大选后依然保持四个。按理说，马华赢了选举，获得四个部长职，输了选举，也保持四个部长职，证明了不论马华获得多少支持，都是巫统主导说了算。巫统进一步彰显主导地位，那些在2013年大选胜出的马华国会议员并没有受委副部长，反而那些被选民拒绝的马华议员“走后门”，受任为上议员及副部长。
内阁部长应该依他们对政策的了解、能力、表现及效率进行评估及检讨， 才能为国民带来改革、迎向未来。只要马华及民政党继续在巫统主导之下便无法改变政策，无论他们有多少人做部长都无所谓，因为到头来，不是为了人民，而是为了那些享受官职厚禄特权的马华领袖。
林冠英