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.
