Kuala Lumpur: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has revealed that his hopes and aspirations for Malaysia to be “a nation of Malaysians” have not changed with the passage of time.
In a statement today, Lim said hearing someone ask recently, “What Malays do you want?” had made him reminisce about his reply to the police when asked about his political views and political plans while detained under the now-abolished Internal Security Act in 1969.
“My answer to the police 54 years ago is the best answer to the question: ‘What Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Dayaks do you want?’” he said in his statement.
He shared that this had been contained in “a classified 1969 document which was declassified on February 24, 2020 — the statement I made to the police while in police custody at the Kuala Selangor Police Station lock-up under the Internal Security Act after I voluntarily flew back to Malaysia on May 18, 1969”.
Lim said that he had also told the police in 1969 that Malaysia needs strong multiracial policies that will serve all Malaysians equally.
As a result, every citizen should be encouraged to see themselves as Malaysians first and their racial identity as secondary, he recalled today as saying at the time.
“Where Malaysians of all races have more in common with one another rather than with their ‘blood brothers’ counterpart may they be in China, India, or Indonesia.
“Unless we can achieve this, Malaysian cannot be said to have become ‘A Nation of Malaysians’,” he said.
