Speech by M Kula Segaran, DAP Vice Chairman, Perak State Deputy Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat, at DAP Dinner orgnised by DAP Jelapang Service Centre

Call on the Jelapang voters to deliver the biggest ever majority vote victory for DAP in state seat of Jelapang in the next general election to demonstrate total rejection of BN’s seizure of state power from Pakatan Rakyat

March 8, 2008 was a historic day for Perakians and Malaysians.

It was the day when people power triumphed and caused Barisan Nasional to lose state power in Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.

The people power also smashed the traditional two thirds parliamentary majority long enjoyed by the BN government.

In Perak, a new government that would truly serve the people was born. It was the Pakatan Rakyat government.

Though Tun Mahathir has recently described the Pakatan Rakyat government as a Chinese government, it was a truly Malaysian government which would treat all Malaysians fairly.

Who will seriously believe that then PR state government was a Chinese government? Only Mahathir would say so.

Till today, opposition supporters are still very proud of the various policies implemented by the Perak PR state government, especially the freehold land title for new villages and the land allocation to Chinese independent schools.

Though in power for just a few months, PR government could implement policies which MCA; Gerakan would never dare to dream of and would not even dare to ask Umno to do.

February 4 last year was the darkest day in Perak political history. It was a day when political frogs betrayed the people’s trust and mandate and caused the down fall of the legally elected PR government.

It was a day when BN showed how power hungry, unethical and unprincipled it was. BN ought to have dissolved the State Assembly but it would not because power is just too important for them.

There is a Chinese saying that a person leaves behind a name when he dies while a tiger leaves behind its skin when it dies.

The saying tells us that it is important for a person to leave behind a good name.

Political frogs cannot understand this and they will forever be remembered as traitors of the people’s trust.

It is very likely that the Prime Minister will dissolve Parliament after next year’s Chinese New Year festival to pave way for early general election.

I believe that Najib will want to hold early general election because of 2 main factors:-

1. he needs a mandate that he can call his own to implement his own policies

2. there are speculation that world economy will slow down and Malaysia will be affected

The coming general election will be very crucial as PR are determined to achieve our two important political missions—to recapture Perak power and to win federal power.

These will not be easy tasks as BN will be employing all tactics to keep to power.

PR must therefore be better prepared for the coming election.

Most important of all, the people who have long yearned for a better Malaysia must rise to the occasion and vote solidly for PR.

In the Perak state seats, we need to ensure that DAP must win all the state seats we are going to contest; we must especially win big in the Jelapang constituency.

In fact, I will on the Jelapang voters to deliver the biggest ever majority vote victory for DAP in state seat of Jelapang in the next general election to demonstrate the voters’ total rejection of BN’s “seizure” of state power from Pakatan Rakyat.