MCA and Umno leaders in a 'devil's compact'

Lim Kit Siang

MP SPEAKS My first reaction to the speech by the MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek at the party's 59th annual general assembly (AGM) on Sunday is one of outrage that so much lies and falsehoods could be crammed into a single speech.

Just three examples of such lies and falsehoods spouted by Chua on Sunday:

1. “DAP has succeeded in convincing non-Mulsims that PAS’ hudud will reduce crime and corruption in the country. This is another big lie. Of the 11 countries that practise hudud, eight are regarded as the most corrupt and they are also recognised as unstable and unsafe countries”.
2. “Ubah (DAP election campaign theme song) is for :- U for Untuk (to), B for Bentuk (shape), A for Agama (religion) and H for Hudud ala PAS. Change, would mean :-C = Choose H = Hudud A = At N = Next G = General E = Election”.
3. “It (DAP) will continue to mislead, give false hope to the Chinese that if the Chinese vote DAP, they are empowered to be kingmaker in the country”.

Chua is desperately trying to convince himself and Malaysians that DAP is championing PAS’ hudud to the extent of arguing that it will “reduce  crime and corruption” in Malaysia and turning the 13th general election (GE13) into a referendum for “hudud ala PAS”.

Chua (right) is right. This is a “big lie”, but a big lie perpetrated by Chua himself and not by the DAP.

DAP leaders have never shied away anywhere from admitting DAP’s differences with PAS on the questions of Islamic state and hudud, and even PAS leaders have publicly admitted that a vote for PAS in the GE13 is not a vote for hudud, but a vote for Pakatan Rakyat’s common programme of upholding justice, ensuring democracy, restoring the independence and professionalism of important national institutions destroyed by Umno or Barisan Nasional and promoting national unity among Malaysians regardless of race, religion, class or territory.

'Chua’s speech replete with lies and dishonesty'

Most ridiculous of all is the lie by Chua that  DAP leaders are telling the Chinese that they are the “kingmaker in the country” as this had never been the DAP stand.

In asserting that of the 11 countries that practice hudud, eight are regarded as the most corrupt, did Chua pause to consider why in the past 17 years (and in particular in the past three-and-a-half years of Najib Abdul Razak's premiership), Malaysia has become more and more corrupt, losing out to six Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) nations in the latest 2011 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) when 16 years ago, Malaysia towered over all OIC countries in the TI CPI 1996 in terms of development, rule of law and transparency?

In 1996, Malaysia was ranked number 26 out of 54 countries with a score of 5.32 – ahead of Jordan (number 30 – score 4.89), Turkey (number 33 – 3.54) and Egypt (number 41 – 2.84).

Sixteen years later, in the 2011 index, Malaysia crashed to 60th placing with the lowest ever score of 4.3 – losing out to six OIC countries and only one step ahead of Turkey, as illustrated in the chart (right).

But this was not Chua’s most outrageous act at the AGM, which must go to his defence of the MCA Wanita vice-chairperson and Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Heng Seai Kie’s claim that PAS condones the rape of non-Muslim women who do not conform to the Islamic dress code.

Politics of desperation
 
The initial outrage at Chua’s speech soon gave way to sadness and pity that a MCA president could stoop so low as to spout such lies and falsehoods because of the sense of desperation about prospects in the GE13.

It is very clear MCA and Umno leaders have reached a “devil’s compact” for each side to tell the most blatant lies and falsehoods to frighten Chinese and Malay voters respectively, as they seem to have concluded that such politics of hate and duplicity is the only way to protect and preserve Umno or BN power in the GE13.

Umno leaders, especially Najib, who opened the MCA AGM (above), do not believe the MCA's lies and falsehoods as Chua’s defamation of PAS and Islam for condoning rape of non-Muslims.

But they kept quiet, in the same way that MCA leaders are keeping quiet although they do not believe Umno’s lies and falsehoods that DAP wants to create a Christian Malaysia, abolish the Malay rulers and set up a republic.

This is the devil’s compact. No wonder the recent statement by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (right): “Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t.”

There can be  no more truthful confession of the existence of the  Umno or MCA devil’s compact, resulting in the most devilish politics in the nation’s history, utterly heedless of truth and justice, in the Umno or BN politics of desperation to remain in power in GE13.