PAS menunjukkan kematangan berpolitik bila menyarankan penyatuan keseluruhan rakyat dibincang diperingkat parlimen. Sekaligus umno termalu sendiri dengan isu 'penyatuan melayu' yang bukan sahaja membimbangkan kaum Cina tetapi seluruh pelabur, khususnya di luar negara. Keadaan pasaran saham kini cukup membimbangkan pemimpin Umno. Siapakah punca ketidak tentuan itu jika tidak pemimpin atasan Umno sendiri?

BERNAMA GUNAKAN PERKATAAN 'PUT ASIDE' PULA

Nampaknya Bernama menggunakan perkataan 'put aside' pula setelah 'gugur' selang beberapa jam satu komen dibuat oleh penganalisis politik tempatan.

Yang menarik lapuran Bernama menyebut BA telah lama berunding dengan Suqui sejak sebulan lalu persetujuan untuk 'put aside' (ketepikan dulu) tujuh rayuan yang menyentuh hak Melayu.

MATANG BERPOLITIK

BA tidak menggunakan sebarang kekata tidak enak kepada Suqui tetapi presiden UMNO lah yang begitu galak mengutuk Suqui sehingga BN kecundang di Lunas.

Pemimpin UMNO dan MCA pula sering mengambil dan menolak kata bila mereka gusar kepada kekalahan. Mereka menerima Suqui sebelum pemilu Nov 99 lalu, tetapi mereka menolak pula selepas Ogos 2000. Sikap kepura-puraan pemimpin Umno itu menyebabkan BN tewas di Lunas dan bursa saham meragam sampai ke hari ini. Bukankah itu semua satu 'demo khas' dari kaum Cina dan pelabur buat Umno yang masih tidak faham?

Kini pada Jan 2001 mereka menggunakan ugutan untuk memaksa Suqui mengenepikan 7 rayuan sedangkan itu tidak perlu dilakukan kerana BA sudah lama memahami cetusan Suqui itu hanyalah rayuan yang memang tidak bermaksud untuk menyanggah keistimewaan orang Melayu.

Komen Lim Kit Siang cukup menarik perhatian, di mana pemimpin Umno dan akhbar harian sengaja memilih kata-kata yang menyakitkan untuk mencapai sesuatu yang diinginkan. Apakah mereka itu faham atau berpura-pura tidak faham? Disinilah terjawab arti keikhlasan.

Rencana Rujukkan:

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/general/ge0601_14.htm

January 06 , 2001 18:40PM

PAS OPTS FOR DELEGATION MEETING, WANTS NATIONAL INTERESTS DISCUSSED

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- PAS wants the proposed Umno-PAS-Keadilan talks to be a delegation-level meeting and not one involving just the presidents of the three parties.

"This is to allow more views to be presented," PAS president Datuk Fadzil Noor told reporters at the party's headquarters here on Saturday after the PAS Central Commiteee met to decide on the format for the talks.

Umno had proposed the "Malay unity" talks among the presidents of the three parties with the option of delegations joining the discussions.

Fadzil said PAS wants the discussions to cover issues of national interests as well and not be restricted to Malay unity.

He said it would be inappropriate for the meeting to discuss the interests of just one race because talks on unity should cover all the races in the country.

Asked if other parties should also be included in the talks, Fadzil said PAS at this stage was accepting Umno's proposal for a meeting among Umno, PAS and Keadilan, but would later think of including leaders from parties representing other communities.

He said PAS had set up a technical committee headed by party secretary-general Nasharudin Mat Isa to discuss with representatives from Umno and Keadilan on the procedures for the meeting.

Only after that could the meeting's scope and agenda could be discussed, he said.

Fadzil confirmed that he received a letter on the proposed talks from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is Umno president, a few days ago.

He said he would reply to the letter once Dr Mahathir returns from Myanmar next week.

"We will discuss about the venue and time for the meeting later, but PAS is suggesting that it be held at Parliament House," he said.

The PAS chief said the party would send its top leaders to the meeting and hoped Umno and Keadilan would do likewise.

On Suqui's decision yesterday to "put aside" seven election appeals touching on Malay rights, Fadzil said the Chinese lobby group had already agreed to do that at a meeting with the Barisan Alternatif (BA) secretariat led by Dr Chandra Muzaffar last month.

"We (BA) have long regarded the issue as settled but we are uncertain as to whether the Government will accept the other (76) appeals," he said.

--BERNAMA

Source: [BUNGARAYA] Suqiu puts aside 7 points

Speech by DAP National Chairman Lim Kit Siang at the Petaling Jaya DAP Dinner held in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, January 6, 2001 at 9 p.m.

Suqiu Committee should clarify and rectify the general impression that it had withdrawn seven of its 83-point election appeals

The Suqiu-UMNO Youth joint statement yesterday that in view of "the prevailing ethnic tension", agreed that seven of its 83-point election appeals be "put aside, is a victory for communal political blackmail and a sad day for healthy democratic development in a new Malaysia.

It is particularly sad that despite two recent statements by Suqiu Committee to reiterate that it had respected and never challenged Article 153 of the Malaysian Constitution on the special positions of the Malays and natives of any of the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the Suqiu Committee had been forced to compromise its position on seven of the election appeals.

MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong Sik, who had called on Suqui to "drop" the "sensitive" appeals, had said that only 2% of the appeals are questionable - but it would now appear that it is close to 10 per cent of the Suqiu Appeals which are regarded as objectionable.

There was a campaign to escalate ethnic tensions over the Suqiu Appeals, but this is not the work either of the Suqiu Committee, the over 2,000 organisations which endorsed the Suqiu Appeals or Malaysians who supported the Suqiu Appeals - as all they wanted was to exercise their democratic right to express their aspirations for a new Malaysia where there is genuine national unity, justice, freedom and good governance and there was no attempt by anyone of them to create social unrest and ethnic tensions.

Those who tried to escalate ethnic tensions had clearly acted under official blessings, making not only provocative statements but also actions designed to polarise the country communally - utterly reckless of the harm they were doing to the economy and image of the country. However, they had not been very successful, for even the Malays have seen through their ulterior political agenda.

I had said that the Suqiu-UMNO Youth joint statement is a sad day for healthy democratic development in Malaysia for without challenging the constitutionally-entrenched sensitive issues, there should be room for Malaysians to raise and discuss important and fundamental questions affecting nation building in a plural society in the best interests of the country in an open, civil and democratic environment, without any attempt by anyone to threaten an ethnic confrontation or escalation of ethnic tensions.

What exactly is the agreement reached between Suqiu Committee and UMNO Youth?

The Joint Statement in English used the term "put aside" the seven points regarded by UMNO Youth as having "touched on the special position and rights of Bumiputeras", the Bahasa Malaysia version used the term "diketepikan" while the Chinese version used the term "kerk zhie".

The Chairman of Suqiu Committee, Quek Suan Hiang, has issued a statement criticising the Bahasa Malaysia print media for distorting the joint statement in using terms like "gugur" and "tarik balik".

However, it is not just the Bahasa Malaysia media which gave front-page headlines like "Suqiu gugur 7 tuntutan - empat pertemuan tertutup selama 24 jam tamatkan kontroversi" (Utusan Malaysia) and "Suqiu gugur 7 tuntutan - berkait hak, keistimewaan orang Melayu", this is also the language used by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as well as MCA and Gerakan leaders in their comments on the Suqiu-UMNO Youth joint statement.

Utusan Malaysia quoted Abdullah as praising Suqiu's decision - (tindakan Suqiu menarik balik tuntutan yang mempertikaikan hak dan keistimewaan orang Melayu") - as a victory for Malaysians.

MCA Deputy President, Datuk Lim Ah Lek said Suqiu made the right decision to "drop the controversial points" (NST) while Gerakan deputy president Datuk Kerk Choo Ting said "it is a good thing that the committee withdrew some of the sensitive demands" (NST).

Quek has denied that the Suqiu Committee has agreed to "drop", "withdraw" or "retract" the seven points referred in the joint statement.

In view of the confusion which has been created, the Suqiu Committee and UMNO Youth should clarify and rectify the general impression given to the government and the people that Suqiu Committee had withdrawn seven of its 83-point election appeals, and in particular whether "put aside", "diketepikan" and "kerk zhie" whether separately or collectively tantamount to "drop", "withdraw" and "retract".

Furthermore, the question has also to be addressed as to whether the Suqiu Appeals, endorsed by over 2,000 organisations, could be varied in any manner by the Suqiu Committee without the consent or reference back to these over 2,000 organisations?