WHAT’S WRONG WITH ‘MALAYSIAN MALAYSIA’ – IS UMNO’S NUR JAZLAN FEELING ‘ITCHY’ OR WHAT? – SLOGAN NOT ONLY IN LINE WITH THE CONSTITUTION BUT ALSO SUPPORTED BY MANY MALAYS – NO NEED TO CHANGE IT, SAYS DAP – INDEED, IF ANYTHING ‘MALAYSIAN MALAYSIA’ SHOULD BE PROMOTED FOR THE UNITY THAT STILL ELUDES THE NATION & DRAGS DOWN ITS ECONOMY
‘Malaysian Malaysia’ slogan no barrier to Malay support, says DAP chairman
KAMPAR: DAP’s “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan or secular agenda has never been a deterrent in getting support from the Malays, says Lim Guan Eng.
The DAP chairman said it was not an issue as the Pakatan Harapan component party had also championed the agenda when they won Penang.
“When we were the government in Penang, it was not an issue,”
Lim said this at a press conference after opening the Kampar MP and Keranji state assemblyman’s service centre here on Sunday (Sept 3).
“Nothing happened as claimed. It’s just a political game to create fear,” he added.
Lim then said that DAP has always defended the Federal Constitution.
“We have never questioned what is enshrined in the Constitution,” he added.
This is in response to Umno supreme council member Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed’s recent call for DAP to drop its “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan and secular agenda.
Nur Jazlan had said in a Facebook post that Malays are hesitant to fully support its secular state agenda, which “contradicts Islamic and Malay principles”.
In response to this, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has recently said that it was unnecessary for them to abandon the agenda.
On Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s claim at a recent ceramah that the unity government wants to increase the number of Parliamentary seats to 300 from the current 222, Lim threw cold water on it.
“Only the Election Commission (EC) has the authority to do so and we do not have such information. As a former prime minister, he should know basic things like this. He (Muhyiddin) needs to address this with the EC, and not us,” said Lim.
Muhyiddin had said at a ceramah in Kempas, Johor that the unity government would undergo an electoral boundaries redelineation process if they get the two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The Pagoh MP claimed that the total number of parliamentary seats would be expanded to 300 from the current 222 seats, with the additional seats to come from urban areas. ANN
Loke: No need for DAP to abandon ‘Malaysian Malaysia’
MUAR: There is no need for DAP to abandon its secular nation agenda nor its “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan as suggested by an Umno leader, says Anthony Loke.
The DAP secretary-general said that an understanding had already been reached among parties in the unity government pact before they decided to work together after the 15th General Election (GE15) last November.
“DAP has never asked any party to amend its constitution. Each party has its own principles and ideology, but what is important is that when we formed the unity government, we agreed to work together in maintaining several key parameters.
“The most important parameter is to uphold and defend the Federal Constitution and the provisions under it.
“We support the principles under the Constitution, including the status of Islam as the federal religion, Bahasa Melayu as the national language, Article 153 and the status of Malay Rulers,” he told reporters here on Friday night.
Loke added that Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had also accepted DAP’s stance before the latter decided to bring Barisan into the unity government pact.
The pact was established after GE15 when no coalition had enough parliamentary seats to form the federal government, and consists of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan as well as Sarawak and Sabah parties which had been rivals during the polls.
DAP is part of Pakatan, while Barisan is led by Umno.
“There is no need to bring up polemics that will only affect the confidence of the people,” said Loke, referring to a statement by Johor Umno leader, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, who urged DAP to drop its “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan in order to gain more support from Malays.
“Because those two agendas continue to traumatise Malays and make them unable to accept DAP. The question is, does DAP dare to make such a big sacrifice for the sake of its political survival?” Nur Jazlan posted on Facebook.
Loke refuted this view, arguing that voters are more interested in evaluating the track record and work of their representatives and not their party ideology.
“Even in my own constituencies, both parliament and state seats, I still won with a pretty high majority despite the areas having a high percentage of Malay voters.“This shows that voters look at the way we work, our approach and services, not our party ideology,” he said.
Loke also said Nur Jazlan’s views have not affected Pakatan’s campaign in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections.
“It has not affected the by-elections as DAP is not contesting. The candidates are both from Amanah,” he said.
The main challenge in the by-elections, Loke said, was to convince outstation voters to return.
“We do not know the exact percentage of outstation voters (in the two seats), but we know that the numbers are big.
“We know that in Johor, there are many working in other places such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
“Our challenge is to identify the outstation voters and to call them, convincing them to return home to vote,” he said. ANN
Malaysia won’t be world-class nation if only one race successful, says Kit Siang
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia will not become a great world-class nation if only one race is successful, says DAP veteran Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang.
Voters in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections now have the opportunity to create history by working together and vote in order to send a clear message that the people, regardless of race or religion, wanted the country to succeed, he added.
“Back in 1957, when our country was born, our founding fathers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Tan Cheng Lock, and Tun V. T. Sambanthan, understood that Malaysia is a multiracial country with different races, religions, and cultures.
“If we want to become a great world-class nation, we need to work together. We do not want Malaysia to become a Chinese Malaysia, an Indian Malaysia, a Kadazan Malaysia, or a Dayak Malaysia.
“We wanted Malaysia for all the rakyat who have been living in Malaysia,” he said during a speech at the Ceramah Perpaduan Pulai programme at Taman Bukit Indah, here, on Saturday (Sept 2) night.
“These two by-elections are not only important for Johor but also for Malaysia, as they will influence our future.
“For the past 20 years, we have been falling behind countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, India, and Vietnam. Do we want to continue to be left behind?
“We need to rise up and become a great nation again, and to do so, we need to return to the principles of nation-building,” he said, adding that the voters need to come out and vote.
The former Iskandar Puteri MP added that the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim must also be given a chance to lead and develop the country.
“Give them three to four years; only then can we argue whether this government has managed to turn Malaysia into a great world-class nation.
“I do not think that the Perikatan Nasional coalition of Bersatu and PAS has the same plan or even agenda for the country and the people.
“The unity government will also not lose its two-third majority even if we lose in the Pulai parliamentary, so the current government is stable. We need to understand this.
“Johor can become the front-line state in saving Malaysia,” he added.
The ceramah was also attended by Johor Umno liaison secretary Datuk Samsolbari Jamali, Amanah national communications director Khalid Abdul Samad, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, PKR central leadership council member Dr Maszlee Malik, DAP national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching, DAP deputy secretary-general Liew Chin Tong and Johor Barisan Youth chief Noor Azleen Ambros.
The Pulai seat has a total of 165,313 voters comprising 44.18% Malay, 40.46% Chinese, 12.31% Indian and 3.06% others.
Simpang Jeram has a total of 40,014 voters comprising 51.87% Malays, Chinese 44.58%, Indians 2.53% and others 0.99%.
Early voting for the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state seats would be on Sept 5 while polling day has been set for Sept 9. ANN
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