‘Report us if our forums were racist’

DAP is holding a public forum to dispel allegations that Pakatan Rakyat's recent success in the Sarawak polls was solely to do with the swing by Chinese voters

KUCHING: Sarawak DAP has challenged Barisan Nasional leaders who have alleged that the party resorted to making racial slurs to win votes especially among the Chinese during the recent state polls.

“There are allegations that DAP had resorted to racist tactics and (instigated) hatred in the recently concluded state election.

“I challenge the BN leaders to produce evidence of our leaders making such racist comments and challenge them to lodge police reports for whatever evidence they have,” said state DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen.

He said as far as DAP ceramahs and pamphlets were concerned, there was nothing about racial about its content.

“I think a lot of you had attended our rallies and had seen our pamphlets.

“Our rallies and pamphlets were all about policies of Barisan Nasional and about the politics of greed or politics of ‘tan’.

“It is nothing about racism,” Chong said.

Chong who is the newly elected Kota Sentosa assemblyman said if BN leaders had evidence of DAP leaders making racist statements than they should lodge a police report.

BN leaders have accused DAP of resorting to politics of hatred and racism after the party had not only defeated BN-SUPP candidates in the urban centres, but had won the seats with bigger majorities.

Among those who accused DAP of being racist was the former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Not just the Chinese

Mahathir said the Chinese community in Sarawak had rejected multi-racialism after being infected by the virus of Chinese racism brought about by DAP.

He accused DAP of destroying the power-sharing formula that BN had implemented for half a century.

“I congratulate DAP for bringing its racist politics to Sarawak,” Mahathir said alluding to DAP victories in 12-Chinese majority seats.

Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP) managed to retain only two Chinese seats – Bawang Assan in Sibu and Senadin in Miri as well as four Dayak majority seats.

Meanwhile, DAP is hoping to dispel the notion that Chinese were ‘solely’ responsible for the opposition’s win in the April 16 Sarawak election.

On Sunday morning DAP will be holding a public forum entitled “The myth of the 2011 Sarawak state elections ….only the Chinese voters swing to PR?” at the Crown Square here.

The forum will analyse the election results where BN claimed that only the Chinese swung to Pakatan Rakyat, while the Bumiputera continued to support BN.

Penang’s Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, DAP national adviser Lim Kit Siang and Ong Kien Ming, a political analyst will speak at the forum.

They will provide statistical evidence to show not only the Chinese swung to Pakatan but that a substantial number of non-Chinese voters also voted for the opposition coalition.