DAP Malaysia Congratulates SPD Germany in Entering Coalition Government

The Malaysian Democratic Action Party (DAP) hereby extends our most heartfelt congratulations to our comrades in Social Democracy, Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland (SPD) for having successfully ratified the coalition government agreement with the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CDU/CSU) through the unprecedented referendum involving all of your 474,800 members.

DAP applauds the efforts of SPD in the five week long negotiations which produced the 185 page agreement setting out to bring a real improvement in the lives of Germany's increasingly numerous low-paid workers .

We would also like to express our deepest respect for the SDP for fully and unequivocally embracing the spirit of democracy. This can be seen by the decision of your leadership, in putting the power of deciding whether or not to sign the said agreement, back in the hands of every single one of your 474,800 members of the SPD. This is democracy of the highest order.

Germany has been known as one of the most experienced nations in coalition politics, though the international community have been made aware that these coalition negotiations have been hugely intense. The initial democratic voices of dissent against the coalition agreement and its prospective agenda have also posed a considerable challenge to all parties concerned; SPD has shown the world the true power of real democracy at work.

We congratulate SPD in holding firm to the social democratic agenda and having successfully translated the negotiations into a governance agenda that will secure prosperity and social security of the people of Germany. With a new minimum wage being worked into the heart of the coalition agreement, SPD’s firm social-democratic stance from the beginning will surely usher in a new hope for the German people. Now that the SPD membership base has given a resounding mandate to the agreement, we are thrilled for you that the new government can now put it to work.

DAP wishes SPD all the best in the grand-coalition with CDU/ CSU and we look forward to further working together with SPD as continued comrades-in-justice, with SPD at the seat of Government for the forthcoming electoral cycle.

Die besten Wünsche für die Zukunft!

Howard Lee Chuan How
Executive Secretary to The Bureau of International Affairs
Democratic Action Party (DAP) Malaysia

DAP's stand on the latest ROS directive

 

 

Media statement by GOBIND SINGH DEO, DAP National Legal Bureau Chairman and MP for Puchong on 18 December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur:

The ROS has in its letter to the DAP dated 6.12.13 said that it is yet unable to recognize the DAP's Central Executive Committee elected through its Special Congress on 29.9.2013.

The ROS says the report sent by the DAP is too brief. It has requested further documents from the DAP so as to ascertain if the said reelection was conducted in accordance with the directive of the ROS to the DAP through its letter dated 30.7.2013.

In addition, the ROS has advised the newly elected members of the DAP Central Executive Committee not to make any decisions on behalf of the DAP until the ROS completes its investigation and communicates its decision over the regularity of the said reelection to the DAP.

The DAP has decided as follows.

First, let it be known that the report sent to the ROS over the reelection of the CEC is in its usual format, which is the same used for such reports by the DAP and accepted by the ROS in all previous years. As such, there is no basis for the ROS to say the report is too brief.

Second, the DAP calls upon the ROS to explain which law gives the ROS the power not to recognize the newly elected CEC and to call upon the newly elected members of the CEC of the DAP not to make any decisions for the DAP pending this investigation.

Needless to say, this is a position most serious in nature which cannot and must not be taken lightly. It has very far reaching consequences upon the DAP.

The ROS cannot and must not act beyond the powers conferred upon it in law and any such attempt to so do would be ultra vires, unlawful and not binding in law.

Third, the ROS must give the DAP full particulars of the complaints made against the DAP which the ROS now purports to investigate. The DAP is entitled to know who complained in respect of the reelection and what the basis of the complaint is.

The DAP is entitled to a right to respond to any such complaint and the ROS must consider this explanation before making any decision which would impact upon the DAP. This is most basic and fundamental in law.

Until and unless this is done, the ROS has no power to compel the DAP to comply with its letter aforesaid. The DAP is fully prepared to and will not hesitate, if the need arises, to seek judicial pronouncements over the legality of the conduct of the ROS in this regard.

The DAP will write to the ROS demanding an explanation in respect of the matters above.

The ROS must first show that the position it has taken in its letter dated 6.12.13 is in keeping with the law. If it is unable to do this, it must withdraw this letter.

If the ROS fails to reply or persists nevertheless, the DAP will likewise respond with legal action which consequences the ROS must then be prepared to face in full thereafter.

GOBIND SINGH DEO

KERAJAAN NEGERI SEDIA AMBIL ALIH TANAH UNTUK ATASI BANJIR

KENYATAAN AKHBAR

18 DIS 2013

Kerajaan Negeri telah mengenal pasti antara sebab utama kejadian banjir kilat di beberapa kawasan di negeri ini adalah disebabkan sistem pengairan tidak betul dan kekurangan kelebaran sungai.

Bagaimanapun, usaha melebarkan sungai sukar dijalankan kerana terdapat penempatan dan tanah-tanah yang telah diberi hakmilik bersebelahan rezab sungai.

Justeru, Kerajaan Negeri telah mengarahkan Pejabat Tanah dan Galian bekerjasama dengan pejabat tanah berkaitan untuk mengambil tanah-tanah tersebut untuk pelebaran sungai.

Kerajaan Negeri juga mengarahkan Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS) supaya  mengenal pasti kawasan-kawasan sesuai di seluruh Selangor untuk dijadikan kolam tadahan air bagi menangani masalah banjir di negeri ini.

Tanah-tanah ini akan diambil alih oleh Kerajaan Negeri jika perlu kerana usaha ini untuk  kepentingan serta keselamatan rakyat.

Kita telah meminta JPS memasukkan arahan ini sebagai antara agenda penting dalam Pelan Pencegahan Banjir seluruh Selangor yang telah dirangka dan sedang dilaksanakan JPS di bawah Rancangan Malaysia ke-10 (RMK-10).

Dalam RMK-10 yang bermula tahun 2011-2015, JPS telah memohon sebanyak RM774.6 juta di bawah Program Pengurusan Banjir dan Menaiktaraf Saliran yang mana RM93 juta telah diluluskan oleh kerajaan Persekutuan manakala RM567 juta dari Kerajaan Negeri.

Menerusi pertemuan dengan JPS pada minggu lalu, JPS telah memaklumkan dalam RMK-10, sebanyak 246 projek tebatan banjir dirancang-79 dalam perancangan, 88 ikut jadual dan 31 siap dibina.

Bagi Projek Tebatan Banjir di Sri Serdang, Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri (MMKN) pada 2 Januari 2013 telah meluluskan RM8.470 juta kepada Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya untuk projek menaik taraf sistem perparitan manakala RM7.7 juta diluluskan untuk membina rumah pam, menaik taraf kolam takungan, menaik taraf sistem saliran dalaman dan kerja-kerja mendalamkan Sungai Kuyoh.

Kerajaan Negeri akan memantau semua projek-projek tebatan banjir untuk memastikan dana yang diperuntukkan itu dibelanjakan dengan betul dan memberi manfaat kepada rakyat.

Kerajaan Negeri komited untuk mengatasi kejadian banjir di beberapa kawasan di negeri ini yang menyusahkan rakyat akibat kehilangan harta benda dan mengancam keselamatan orang ramai.

Semua pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT) telah diminta membuat persiapan awal bagi menghadapi kemungkinan berlaku banjir seperti menyelia pusat-pusat pemulihan dan bekalan makanan.

Pasukan  Tindakan Segera Negeri Selangor (Skuad Pantas) juga telah diarahkan bersiap sedia untuk membantu agensi keselamatan lain dalam mengendalikan mangsa-mangsa banjir dan kes kecemasan yang lain.

YAB TAN SRI DATO’ SERI ABDUL KHALID IBRAHIM

DATO’ MENTERI BESAR SELANGOR

为制止〝涨〞价潮 吡州行动党促公平竞争委员会阻止政联公司垄断市场坐地起价

(怡保 26 日讯)

为了制止接二连三的涨价潮，吡州行动党主席兼太平区国会议员倪可敏律师今日促请公平竞争委员会一视同仁采取行动，阻止大企业尤其是政府关联公司垄断市场、坐地起价。

倪可敏今日指出，国內电费、大道收费乃至白糖、白米纷纷调漲，关键即在于政府签署的不平等合約及政府关联公司垄断市场，因此造成相关公司年复一年赚取暴利，百姓生活却百上加斤的局面。

政府关联公司赚取暴利                  百姓生活却百上加斤

倪可敏今日表示，以国能公司(TNB)为例，该公司今年盈利逼近40亿大关，可是政府还允许国內电费大幅调涨，使到该公司明年盈利冲上49亿令吉。令人遗憾的是，在政府关联公司坐地起价时，老百姓卻因电费大幅调涨的连锁效应而苦不堪言。

倪可敏指出，南北大道公司也不遑多让，虽然该公司年复一年赚取暴利，可是政府签署的不平等合約却允许南北大道每三年调涨10%，政府甚至还把2018年期满的私营化合约一举延长20年至2038年，这使到运输费高涨，人民被迫买贵货。倪可敏指政府是大股东却沒有〝以民为本〞，这无异与大选承諾公然背道而驰。

                                    公平竞争委员会应竖立法治精神

倪可敏指出，宪法阐明法律面前、人人平等，国会即然通过2011年公平竞争法令(2011 Fair Competition Act) 阻止公司垄断市场，该法令下成立的委员会就应公正严明执行法律赋于的权限而不是〝欺善怕恶〞。

倪可敏表示，该法令下成立的委员会曾经警告并阻止罗厘公会调涨运输费用15%，该委员会也曾因亚航收购马航換股事件对涉及双方面罰款高达一千万令吉，创下罰款新纪录。倪氏说，从上述事件证明该委员会拥有实权，可是却选择性采取行动，行事违背法治精神。

                                    召开朝野圆桌会议检讨不平等合約

为了制止接二连三的〝涨价潮〞，倪可敏呼吁政府明年1月召开朝野圆桌会议重新检讨政府签署的种种不平等合約，同时促请公平竞争委员会采取行动阻止大企业尤其是政府关联公司垄断市场、坐地起价。

也是甲巴央区州议员的倪可敏今日在主持该区火箭服务流动櫃台后向媒体发文言如是表示。出席者包括社青团怡保东区团长廖慧珊、州委謝保恆及众多服务队员等。

(图) : 倪可敏(中)呼吁政府明年1月召开朝野圆桌会议重新检讨政府签署的种种不平等合約捍卫人民权益。坐者右二为廖慧珊、謝保恆等。

Tsunami of Price Hikes - Private Hospital Charges and Medicine Prices Next

Media Statement by Dr. Ko Chung Sen, MP of Kampar on 20^th, December, 2013

 

 

It was reported the Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Hilmi Yahaya told the Dewan Negara on Thursday that private hospitals cannot impose charges at will as the cost of treatment is controlled. Replying to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Yunus Kurus, he said the cost of treatment at private hospitals was controlled under the Private Healthcare Services and Facilities Regulations 2006. He also said patients unhappy with the charges could complain to the ministry.

 

This was a very misleading statement as he had mistakenly referred to the private doctors’ fees rather than the private hospital charges. The private doctors’ fees are controlled by the Ministry of Health and had been the same for more than a decade since 2002. However, the private hospital charges had been going up every few months whenever there was any rise in the prices of the goods and services from the suppliers to improve the profit for the investors.

 

Unfortunately for Malaysian patients without the cover of medical insurance, the cost of private healthcare had become increasingly prohibitive. Even though the government hospitals provide very good general care at a very low price, there are severe shortages of properly qualified specialists in many areas. For example, only 30 out of the 200 cardiologists in the country serve at the government hospitals. The long queues in the government had forced many patients to pay for private hospital treatments by borrowing from friends and relatives, credit cards or even loan sharks. For the patients with medical insurance, the hospital bills nowadays easily exceed the annual limits of RM30,000 to RM60,000. The unfortunate cancer sufferers will know it can cost RM10,000 to RM20,000 a month for the latest state-of-the-art treatments. The total outlay over a few years can run up to few hundred thousand ringgits.

 

The cost of medical treatment is a major cause of bankruptcy in this country. Even the insurance companies are finding it difficult to cope with the ever higher medical bills due to the latest advances in technologies and treatments. The premium of medical insurance has gone up sharply as the consequence. This has become unaffordable for many struggling families.

 

Unfortunately, the government had NOT controlled the private hospital charges at all. Even though the private doctors’ fees had been fixed and not gone up for more than 10 years, the treatment charges had increased by 40% or more in some private hospitals over the same period. The free market forces in the private hospitals in Malaysia had not worked to reduce the cost of treatments, but actually resulted in a race to provide the most profitable latest therapies. Even very easily identifiable medicines are freely priced. Amazingly, Malaysians pay up to 148% higher prices for medicine compared to developed countries like Australia because of lack of government price control.

 

The private doctors’ fee was approved by the cabinet last year to increase by 14%. Already the Malaysian Medical Association called for a 30% hike in private doctors fee instead as it was the first increase since 2002 in the face of much higher cost of living. The private hospital treatment charges will definitely go up with hikes in the prices of electricity and petrol as well as the GST (Goods & Services Tax). The TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) will also render the medicine prices 30% higher. This tsunami of price hikes will prove too much to bear for the long suffering masses. I hereby urge the government to reject the TPPA and to introduce price control for medicines and private hospital treatments for the health of the country and the people.  Many of them, already faced with multiple price hikes, will not be able to pay the much higher premium to renew their medical insurance. In turn, they will make the queues even longer, possibly deadly, in the desperately over-stretched government hospitals. “Wait until you die” may become a reality.

Apa Pendirian MCA & MIC Dengan Cadangan 1Melayu Menggantikan 1Malaysia?

Kenyataan Media V.Sivakumar Ahli Parlimen Batu Gajah pada 5/12/2013 di Batu Gajah

Rasa sungguh kesal dan kecewa dengan kenyataan yang dibuat oleh perwakilan UMNO  yang begitu tebal semangat perkaumannya.  Ketua Bahagian UMNO Bukit Mertajam menyarankan supaya slogan 1Malaysia ditukar kepada 1Melayu. Bukankah ini satu kenyataan yang menghasut dan berbaur perkauman. Inilah taktik kotor UMNO dan Barisan Nasional yang bijak menukar warna kulit seperti cicak kubing mengikut selera dan keadaan. Sebelum PRU13 UMNO mewar-warkan 1Malaysia, Selepas PRU13 tidak lagi segan untuk mencadangkan 1Melayu.

UMNO adalah satu parti perkauman yang sentiasa menindas kaum-kaum yang lain. Semangat assabiyah UMNO semakin membengkak selepas PRU13 apabila mereka merasakan sebahagian besar golongan bukan bumiputera tidak lagi menyokong Barisan Nasional. Jika itu adalah benar, Barisan Nasional seharusnya  mencari sebab musabab kehilangan sokongan itu. Selepas mengenal pasti punca kegagalan, Barisan Nasional sepatutnya mencari jalan untuk memenangi semula hati orang-orang bukan bumiputera. Mencaci dan menghukum orang-orang yang tidak menyokong Barisan Nasional akan memudaratkan lagi penerimaan komponen itu yang sokongan kepadanya semakin hari semakin pudar.

Barisan Nasional harus sedar bahawa golongan bukan bumiputera telah dihimpit dan ditekan selama lebih 50 tahun. Penindasan dilakukan secara terbuka oleh Barisan Nasional dalam semua aspek yang merangkumi ekonomi, sosial dan politik. Nescaya itu,  Barisan Nasional telah kehilangan undi populariti di kalangan golongan bukan bumiputera. Ini adalah suatu tindakan atau reaksi yang normal daripada manusia-manusia yang berfikiran waras dan beremosi. Barisan Nasional tidak mempedulikan perasaan golongan bukan bumiputera selama ini. Tetapi secara tiba-tiba sebelum PRU,  Barisan Nasional cuba berjinak dengan golongan bukan bumiputera dengan slogan retorik 1Malaysia. Ini dilakukan dengan niat menipu semata-mata untuk memancing undi daripada semua lapisan masyarakat. Sebaik saja habis PRU, Barisan Nasional sudah mula menunjukkan belangnya sekarang.

Apa kata Perdana Menteri Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak tentang cadangan Ketua Bahagian UMNO Bukit Mertajam yang mahu menggantikan slogan 1Malaysia dengan 1Melayu dalam perbahasan Perhimpunan Agung UMNO? Beliau secara terbuka mengatakan bahawa 'bangsa-bangsa lain'  telah menikam dari belakang dalam pilihanraya.  Beranikah Presiden UMNO itu menegur Ketua Bahagian itu dan menegaskan pendiriannya secara terbuka?

Bagaimana pula dengan pemimpin-pemimpin MCA, MIC, Gerakan dan PPP? Beranikah mereka ini mengutuk secara terbuka ucapan perkauman Ketua Bahagian UMNO Bukit Mertajam? Atau seperti biasa menjadi 'Pak Angguk'' dan turut serta bertepuk tangan mengiktiraf ucapan sedemikian. Saya pasti tidak akan ada apa-apa reaksi daripada puak-puak ini kerana terpaksa menjaga kepentingan politik masing-masing.

V.Sivakumar
Ahli Parlimen Batu Gajah

Call on all DAP State Conventions in coming weeks to send out one clear message to Malaysians – one with DAP national leadership and Pakatan Rakyat parties to conquer Putrajaya in 14GE to achieve Malaysian Dream

Media Statement by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 26^th November 2013:

After the DAP Special Congress on September 29, 2013 to re-elect the DAP national leadership, the UMNO national elections in October and the 59^th PAS Muktamar last weekend to elect the PAS leadership for the next two years, the national focus for the coming weeks will be back on the DAP.

Beginning this weekend, most of the DAP State Conventions will be electing the new DAP State leaderships – and true to form, the Umno/BN plotters and conspirators are already working overtime to demonise the DAP leaders to cause maximum dissension,  division and damage to the DAP in particular and Pakatan Rakyat in general.

But just as the UMNO/BN plotters and conspirators, through their media, printed and Internet, had failed in their sinister design to destroy Pakatan Rakyat and the component parties of DAP, PAS and PKR, whether before, during and in the half-year after the 13^th General Elections, DAP delegates to the DAP State Conventions in the coming weeks must mobilise to rally behind the national DAP leadership to send out  one clear and unmistakable message not only to Umno/Barisan Nasional but also to all Malaysians.

This clear and unmistakable message all DAP State Conventions in the coming weeks should send out to all Malaysians is that the  DAP at all levels in the country are one with the DAP national leadership and the other Pakatan Rakyat partners, PAS and PKR, to conquer Putrajaya in the 14GE to achieve the Malaysian Dream -  a Malaysia for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, class or region where democracy, good governance and socio-economic justice could flourish to allow every Malaysian to achieve his or her fullest potential for the collective good and greatness of the nation.

I had said yesterday that all the three parties of DAP, PAS and PKR have benefitted from the partnership in Pakatan Rakyat.

From a regional party confined largely to its “Northern” heartland of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, PAS has gone “national” in the 13^th General Elections with parliamentary and/or state assembly representation in every state in Peninsular Malaysia, except for Negri Sembilan.

Performance of DAP (1999 to 2013)

DAP has also benefitted from being in Pakatan Rakyat and needs the Pakatan framework of cooperation and mutual reliance to continue to win more seats.

DAP has come a long way since 1999 in terms of the number of parliament and state seats won.

From 10 parliament and 11 state seats in Peninsular Malaysia in the 1999 general elections to 11 parliament and 15 state seats in the 2004 general elections, DAP took a big jump to 26 parliament and 72 state seats in Peninsular Malaysia in the 2008 general elections.

DAP made further gains in the 2013 general elections by winning 31 parliament and 91 state seats in Peninsular Malaysia. (See Table 1 below)

Table 1: Number of Parliament and State Seats won by the DAP in Peninsular Malaysia (including seats with <60 chinese="" font="" voters="">

DAP (Pmsia)	1999	2004	2008	2013
# Parliament	10	11	26	31
# Parliament < 60% Chinese	1	0	11	16
% Parliament <60 chinese="" span="">	10%	0%	42%	52%
# State

Medicine Prices in Malaysia Are up to 148.28% Higher than In Australia

Media Statement by Dr. Ko Chung Sen, MP of Kampar on 27^th, November, 2013

 

 

This was reported in a research paper published in 2012, looking at the retail prices of the 10 most used prescription medications in Malaysia and in Australia.

 

The study looked at the prices charged by 20 pharmacies in Malaysia compared to the prices offered by the 3 biggest pharmacy chains of few hundred stores, which were the Chemist Warehouse, Terry White Chemist and My Chemist.    

 

The drugs were the popular medicines used to treat common medical conditions.  Betaloc and Noten for heart disease, Glucovance and Diamicron for diabetes, Lipitor and Zocor for high cholesterol, Norvasc and Adalat LA for blood pressure, Ventolin for asthma and Volteren as pain killer.

 

The findings showed that the mean retail prices in Malaysia were 30.30% to 148.28% higher than those in Australia. For example, Lipitor, the biggest selling cholesterol medicine in the world, a 20mg tablet cost an average RM5.07 in Malaysia, but only RM3.12 in Australia, difference of 62.5%. Norvasc 10mg, a blood pressure medicine, cost RM3.34 in Malaysia, RM2.17 in Australia, difference of 53.91%. GlucoVance 500/5mg, a diabetic medicine, was RM0.79 in Malaysia but RM0.38 in Australia, difference of 107.89%. Betaloc 50mg, a heart medicine, cost RM0.72 in Malaysia and RM0.29 in Australia, difference of 148.28%!

 

The other problem in Malaysia is, the retail prices between pharmacies could be more than 5 times different. For example, for Norvasc 10mg tablet, a blood pressure medicine, the highest price RM8.67, lowest price RM1.60. difference of 541%. Zocor 80mg, highest RM6.60 and lowest RM1.20, 550% difference. Lipitor 20mg, highest RM7.17 and lowest RM3.83, 187% difference. The retail mark-ups for medicines was confirmed to range from 10% to 552% in another published survey.

 

Prescription drug expenditures are one of the fastest growing components of the health services around the world. The purchase of medicine makes up a large proportion of the healthcare budget and account for a significant chunk of the non-personnel cost. Furthermore, for cash paying patients, higher cost resulted in significant lower drug adherence among the poor. We need to make life saving medicines affordable and less of a burden to the people.

 

Globally different countries regulate the drug prices differently. France and Italy have direct price control. Germany and Japan maintain price control indirectly through re-imbursement under social insurance schemes. In Britain, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority monitors the prices and regulate the profit that companies can make on sales.

 

For developing countries like Malaysia, 20% to 60% of the total spending on health are due to expenditures on pharmaceuticals. Indeed the cost of the prescription can be ten times the fee of a consultation. In this country, the total market size for prescription and OTC (over the counter) medicine is estimated at RM4.5billion a year. The government budget for Pharmacy and Supply for year 2014 is RM1,506,036,800. A very large amount spent to keep the nation healthy and working. However, we could potentially save few hundred millions a year for the government budget and RM1billion a year for the country if we purchased the medicines at the Australian market price. The problem of higher medicine prices here are due to the failure of the government to impose price control and regulations in this country.

 

In Malaysia, there is a total lack of price control and monitoring in every stage from the manufacturers, distributors to the retailers as well as in the doctors’ clinics. In 1994, in addition to price deregulation, the Malaysian government approved a privatized drug- distribution system for public health care facility to help reduce the cost. The Government Medical Store was privatised and Pharmaniaga was set up. Unfortunately, while Pharmaniaga is now a public listed company worth RM1.18billion with huge profit of RM61.7million in year 2012, the cost of the medicine increased after that and kept on increasing. Worse still, many medicines were found to be more costly in the private sector with huge price variation.  Indeed, the medicine prices have been reported to be escalating even faster than the developed world.

 

The Malaysian government and the pharmaceutical industry can no longer claim that the prices of medicines are best controlled by the free market economy. We have practised that policy since 1994. The country and the people have been forced to folk out more than ever. The prices of medicines are expected to rise by as much as 30% with the implementation of the TPPA (Trans-pacific Partnership Agreement) and the GST(Goods & Service Tax). I hereby urge the government to set up a National Medicine Pricing Authority to monitor and maintain the medicine prices at the lowest possible level. This is long overdue. With the ever higher cost of living, the least the government can do is to prevent excessive profiteering from the medicines necessary to ease our pain and suffering.

DAP, PAS and PKR achieved their best parliamentary and state assembly results during their tripartite co-operation in the 1999, 2008 and 2013 General Elections

Media Statement by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 27th  November 2013:

In the 1999 General Elections, faced with the challenge of the four-party  Barisan Alternative comprising DAP, PAS, PKR and Parti Rakyat,  UMNO/BN strategists and propagandists launched a fork-tongued campaign, warning the Malays one the one hand  that “DAP Plus PAS Equals Islam Hancur (destroyed)” while on the other hand warning the Chinese that a vote for DAP was a vote for PAS and an Islamic State where there would be no pork, no alcohol, no temples, no churches, no karaokes, no Chinese schools, women would  have to cover their heads, beautiful women could not find jobs and that there would be the chopping of hands and feet.

By and large, the Malay voters in the 1999 general elections did not take the bait but the non-Malay voters, particularly the Chinese voters, fell victim to the campaign of falsehoods and fear generated by the Barisan Nasional, resulting in an outcome where PAS was the biggest winner in the Barisan Alternative as the largest parliamentary opposition with 27 MPs and 98 State Assembly representatives, capturing Terengganu state government in addition to Kelantan while DAP suffered severe setbacks, securing only 10 parliamentary and 11 state assembly seats. PKR won 5 parliamentary and 4 state assembly seats.

In the recent 2013 General Elections, faced with the challenge by Pakatan Rakyat, Umno/BN strategists and propagandists returned to their traditional fork-tongued campaign of lies and falsehoods, warning the Malays on the one hand that PAS would be a puppet of DAP while warning the Chinese on the other hand that DAP would be a stooge of PAS. 

Unlike the 1999 General Elections, the Chinese voters did not take the Umno/BN bait in the 2013 polls. However, unlike the 10th General Elections, the UMNO campaign of lies and falsehoods made some impact on the Malay voters.

As a result, UMNO emerged from the 13GE stronger than 2008, up 10 seats from the 79 to 88 seats, benefitting from the shift in rural Malay votes.

Based on the present constituency delineation, and taking more than 55 per cent vote secured as a “safe” seat, presently BN has 82 safe seats and 51 marginal seats while Pakatan Rakyat has 60 safe seats and 29 marginal seats.

The 82 BN safe seats comprise five urban and  77 rural constituencies, or 53 Malay-majority, 0 Chinese-majority, four mixed and 25 bumiputera constituencies.

The 51 BN marginal seats are 30 Malay majority, 0 Chinese majority, 9 mixed and 12 bumiputera.

The 60 PR safe seats comprise 16 Malay majority, 25 Chinese majority, 18 mixed and 1 bumiputera constituencies.

The 29 PR marginal seats comprise 20 Malay majority, 4 Chinese majority, 5 mixed and 0 bumiputera.

The 13GE results of  89 Pakatan Rakyat MPs, comprising 38 DAP MPs, 30 PKR MPs and 21 PAS MPs have been exploited and distorted by Umno/BN plotters and conspirators for their campaign of lies and falsehoods, like the baseless accusation that PAS is a puppet of DAP.

I am not surprised that UMNO cybertroopers have distorted my statement after the 59th PAS Muktamar to give the impression that I had declared that PAS could not develop without Pakatan Rakyat, when what I had said was that all the three parties of DAP, PAS and PKR have benefitted from the partnership in Pakatan Rakyat.

From a regional party confined largely to its “northern” heartland of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, PAS has gone “national” in the 13th General Elections with parliamentary and/or state assembly representation in every state in Peninsular Malaysia, except for Negri Sembilan.

For the DAP, our partnership in Pakatan Rakyat has enabled the DAP to win 38 parliamentary seats and 107 State Assembly seats, including 16 ethnically-mixed  parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia with less than 60 per cent Chinese voters (nine with less than 50 per cent Chinese voters) and 44 “ethnically-mixed” State Assembly seats with less than 60 per cent Chinese voters (15 of which with less than 50% Chinese voters).

PKR Performance (1999 to 2013)

PKR leveraging Pakatan’s strength in ethnically ‘mixed’ constituencies

Like DAP and PAS, PKR has also benefitted from the partnership in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, and this is not just about Pakatan Rakyat retaining the Penang and Selangor State Governments.

Ethnically mixed constituencies – where no one race is more than 60% of voters – used to be BN’s stronghold. However, with UMNO’s increasingly right wing positions and the poor record of governance by the BN, the opposition has capitalized by capturing a majority of these mixed seats in Peninsular Malaysia. 

PKR best represents the model of leveraging on Pakatan’s inclusive message and the grassroot mobilization ability of the individual Pakatan parties in these ethnically mixed seats. These are the seats which PKR has managed to capture in the past two general elections.

In 1999, the only parliament seat which PKR won that had less than 70% Malay voters was Permatang Pauh (67% Malay). The only state seat which PKR won that had less than 70% Malay voters was Penanti (68% Malay) which is located in the parliament seat of Permatang Pauh. 

PKR was decimated in the 2004 Abdullah Badawai ‘tsunami’, being reduced to just one parliamentary seat – Permatang Pauh.

In 2008, PKR emerged as the largest opposition party by winning 31 parliament seats. Out of these 31 parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia, 20 (or 65%) were ethnically mixed seats where Malay and Chinese voters are less than 60% of voters. Out of the 40 state seats which PKR won in 2008, 29 (73%) were ethnically mixed.

In 2013, PKR won 28 parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia out of which 22 (79%) were ethnically mixed seats. Out of the 42 state seats won by PKR in 2013, 29 (69%) were ethnically mixed seats. (See Table 1 below)

Table 1: Number of Parliament and State Seats won by PKR (1999 to 2013) including the number and % of seats which have less than 60% Malay and 60% Chinese voters (Peninsular Malaysia)

PKR PMsia	1999	2004	2008	2013
Parliament	5	1	31	28
State	4	0	40	42
Parl, <60 nbsp="" span="">	0	0	20	22