Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 12.2.2015.
Former MCA President Tan Sri Dr Chua Soi Lek is correct in judging his successor and current MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai as weak, cowardly and even deceitful when Liow backed down from his earlier pledge to demand in Cabinet, that Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob retract and apologise for his inflammatory statement that consumers boycott Chinese traders for refusing to reduce prices and that the Chinese oppresses the Malays.
Is this how Liow fulfil his vow to fight for justice for the maligned Chinese community by accepting that Ismail merely issue an official clarification instead of of a retraction AND apology as MCA promised to the Chinese community? Such betrayal and cowardice by Liow in not daring to “practice what he preaches’ is more painful because Ismail lied by blaming Chinese traders for not reducing prices of basic necessities.
Ismail lied because most the of the basic necessities like rice, sugar and oil as well as services like insurance, banking and transport are no longer controlled by the Chinese but by UMNO or BN cronies? Further Ismail has shown himself to be unfit to be a Minister for all Malaysians when he claimed that the Chinese oppressed the Malays without showing any proof.
To blame the Chinese community for not reducing prices of goods that are controlled by UMNO and BN cronies, is a dishonest and dishonourable tactic to distract attention from UMNO’s failure to manage the economy and the rising cost of living, as well as the numerous financial scandals such as 1MDB and RM1.4 trillion lost from the outflow of illicit funds.
How long must the Chinese community suffer from being unfairly maligned by UMNO leaders. Before Ismail, another outrageous and inflammatory lie was by former UMNO Deputy Minister Dr Mashitah Ibrahim during the UMNO General Assembly last year that the Chinese community in Kedah had burned the Quran in a Chinese prayer ritual when it was done by a deranged Malay Muslim male. In the same UMNO General Assembly, UMNO Permatang Pauh Division Chairman Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said made a false claim that the political and economic strength of the Chinese in Penang comes from illegal economic activities such as illegal gambling, prostitution and entertainment outlets.
And yet UMNO leaders remained silent over Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s act to vouch unsolicited, the integrity and character of gambling kingpin Paul Phua, when Ahmad attempted to secure Paul Phua’s release from being detained by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Home Minister even claimed that Paul had assisted Malaysia’s national interests without explaining how a gambling kingpin could assist in protecting Malaysia’s national interests.
There is no need for DAP to unmask UMNO’s true character as racists and extremists. But there is a need to reveal the MCA leaders’ true character, exposed by Tan Sri Dr Chua Soi Lek as weak, cowardly and deceitful, when MCA backed down from their demand of an apology and retraction by Ismail Sabri to only an official clarification and that MCA will not co-operate with DAP to demand that Ismail retract and apologise to the Chinese community. Just as the Chinese community will never forget UMNO’s lies and attacks against them, MCA will not be forgiven for this historic betrayal.
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2015年2月12日在吉隆坡发表声明：
廖中莱竟然接受依斯迈沙比里仅仅发布官方澄清，而不是要求他撤回言论及道歉，这就是廖中莱誓言马华将为受诋毁的华社讨回公道的能力？
马华前总会长丹斯里蔡细历针对其接班人即现任马华总会长拿督斯里廖中莱的评断是正确的，他说廖中莱懦弱甚至讲大话。廖中莱退缩，没有在内阁要求农业及农基产品部长依斯迈沙比里撤回其煽动性言论，即促请消费者抵制华商，因为华商不愿降低物价、华商压迫马来人。
廖中莱竟然接受依斯迈沙比里仅仅发布官方澄清，而不是要求他撤回言论及道歉，这就是廖中莱誓言马华将为受诋毁的华社讨回公道的能力？他的背叛及懦弱，比起他“讲到做不到”更伤，因为依斯迈说谎，还怪罪华商不愿降低基本商品的物价。
依斯迈说谎，因为事实上，大部分基本商品如稻米、白糖及石油，以及服务业如银行、保险、交通都不是由华人掌控，而是由巫统或国阵朋党掌控。当依斯迈无凭无据地说华人压迫马来人，他已经没有资格成为全民部长。
依斯迈怪罪华社不愿降低那些受巫统及国阵朋党控制商品价格，这是不诚实及不光荣的手段，他们企图转移人民视线，巫统在管理经济及控制百物上涨方面已经失败，而且还爆发无数的金融丑闻，如一马发展机构以及流失到国外的1.4兆非法资金。
华社还要继续被巫统领袖不公平地诋毁到什么时候？在依斯迈之前，我国来自巫统的前副部长马西达去年在巫统全国代表大会上怪罪吉打州华裔社群在华人的祭拜活动上焚烧《可兰经》，事实上是一名马来精神病患所为。在那个巫统大会上，巫统峇东埔区会主席拿督莫哈末再迪也发表错误声明，他说，槟城华人的政治及经济力量来自非法经济活动如：非法赌博、娼妓业及娱乐业。
而巫统领袖针对内政部长拿督斯里阿末扎希包庇“赌王”潘惠生、为他辩白一事保持沉默。潘惠生被美国联邦调查局扣留，阿末扎希致函当局企图协助他获释。内政部长甚至宣称潘惠生曾协助我国国安计划问题，但他没有进一步解释一名赌王如何保护我国国家利益。
行动党不需要揭开巫统的面具，他们的真面目就是种族主义及极端主义。但是，我们有必须揭开马华领袖的真实面目，正如丹斯里蔡细历所说的，马华领袖懦弱、讲大话，竟然退缩，不再要求依斯迈的道歉及撤回言论，仅是接受他的官方澄清，马华也不会与行动党合作，要求依斯迈撤回言论及向华社道歉。只是华社永远不会忘记巫统的谎言及攻击，也不会原谅马华这一次历史性的背叛。
林冠英