AN OPEN LETTER TO DAP

Malaysiatoday

I am a Malaysian Chinese residing in Petaling Jaya and had voted for your party's candidates in the 12th GE.

I had attended practically all your party's ceramahs in the PJU and nearby areas. In the ceramahs, your speakers had continuously stressed the importance of a multiracial government that takes care of its rakyat regardless of status, race and religion.

It is therefore a great shock and disappointment to hear that the DAP is calling its Perak state assemblymen to boycott the swearing-in ceremony of the new Perak MB tomorrow just because the MB is from PAS. I feel very much let down by this decision.

Firstly, your party calls for the establishment of a Malaysian Malaysia. Isn't PAS part of Malaysian Malaysia. Or are you telling us now that just because they are from PAS, they are not? Then in the first place, you should not have ask the voters, especially your supporters, to vote for the 'Bulan' knowing fully well it is referring to PAS. If you can ask voters, especially your supporters, to vote for PAS, then why can't your party now accept a PAS assemblyman to head the state government. I was led to believe that as long as a person is qualified, he will be supported. As many speakers said in your ceramahs, 'It doesn't matter whether it is a white cat or a black cat, as long as it is able to catch rat, it is a good cat.' Doesn't the same argument holds, whether the MB is from PAS, DAP or PKR, as long as he is able to look after the welfare of the rakyat, then he is a good MB.

Secondly, if a candidate from PAS cannot be accepted by the DAP, then why in the first place you decide to set up a coalition government with them? The argument that you can cooperate with the six PAS assemblymen and yet can't accept a PAS member as the Perak MB does not hold water. Are you trying to fool us just like what the BN government had done over the last 50 years? Don't think that the public is stupid. How can we, the rakyat, trust you now when even before the state government is set up, you are already fighting among yourselves in the so-called 'Barisan Rakyat' coalition.

Thirdly, your party's Perak state chairman Mr Ngeh Koo Ham had repeatedly said that DAP, PKR and PAS will abide by any decision made by the Sultan on the Perak MB. Now that a decision had been reached, you are going back on your words. As I recall from one of the speeches by Mr Gobind Singh Deo in SS2 on March 7 in which he said, "A politician must be responsible for what he said. After making a statement, he cannot then said that he is saying things in a sarcastic manner etc so as to deny his earlier statement." Mr Gobind Singh said this when commenting on Tun Mahathir's statement that when he said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was innocent, he was being sarcastic about it. The same standard should then be applied to all DAP party leaders and speakers. You must be responsible and accountable for what you say. When you said that you will accept the decision made by the Sultan, then you must stand by what you had said. Going back on your words now can only show that the BN is right and that your party leaders, especially Mr Lim Kit Siang, is only going after personal glory/power without any regard to the well-being of the rakyat and the party. DAP would then be just a party that is "cakap tak serupa bikin".

Fourthly, your party has not come out with any reason for the rejection of the PAS assemblyman as the Perak MB. I, as a voter that voted for your party, demand to know the reason behind this decision. Your party had always stressed the importance of accountability and transparency in your election manifesto. Now, please 'walk the talk' by also being transparent and explain your decision to the public. Anything less would make you no better than the BN government which 50% of the peninsula rakyat had just rejected. Anything less would also guarantee that the rakyat would make their voices heard again in the next general election, voting against the DAP.

There are many more reasons for my feeling of utter disgust and consternation for this decision made by your party's CEC. However, I will keep them to myself at this moment.

On the morning of March 9, 2008, I truly believe that a new era has dawned on Malaysia as we are finally able to transcend race and religion in our efforts to make Malaysia the truly great country that she should be. A truly Malaysian Malaysia. Sadly, just three days later, that new era does not even have a chance to begin as the group of leaders that are supposed to lead us there are now fighting among themselves for whatever reasons best known to them.

How can we move forward as a nation when we have leaders that are so selfish, egocentric and who don't practice what they preached? Is our country forever going to be mired in mediocrity amidst a culture of intolerance, suspicion, fear, corruption and cronyism?

I sincerely thought that DAP is part of the future and a cure of our country's ills. However, this decision by your CEC had shown that DAP is a party of the past. It is already blinded by its election success and is no longer in touch with the aspirations of the rakyat to build a nation based on trust, integrity, tolerance, responsibility and accountability, regardless of status, race and religion. You had forgotten that the rakyat is the boss that voted for you and put you there to serve us. You had betrayed your voters and had rejected the rakyat's wish to move forward to form a Malaysian Malaysia.

I rest my case.
By Teh Seng Hin