Sarawak State Assembly should have live telecast of its proceedings, making it the first legislature in Malaysia -  even earlier than Parliament  - to have such live telecasts

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Speech
at the Sibu DAP thanksgiving dinner  to polling/counting  agents and election  workers
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Paramount Hotel, Sibu, Tuesday) : The banner the six newly-elected DAP State Assembly representatives can fly high in the ninth Sarawak State Assembly is to set the standard for a First-World State Assembly, First-World Sarawak and a First-World Malaysia.

The new Sarawak State Assembly should be an exciting and exhilarating experience with  the six DAP State Assemblymen and women committed to transform the Sarawak State Assembly from an echo chamber of the Chief Minister and the Sarawak Barisan Nasional into a true , representative and vibrant  forum of the people of Sarawak.

In the last Assembly, Chew Chin Sing was the lone voice against 61 Barisan Nasional state assembly representatives who misused their virtual-hegemony of the Assembly to bully and discriminate against the Kidurong Assemblyman, even referring Chew to the Committee of Privileges in December last year  to shut him up from defending the dignity of women in Sibu and Sarawak.

For five months until the dissolution of the Sarawak Assembly in April , the Committee of Privileges never met to consider the charge against Chew for breach of privileges, which is the most eloquent proof of the abuse of power of the SUPP Minister Datuk Wong Soon Koh who, with the support of all the 60 Barisan Nasional Assembly representatives, voted solidly to refer Chew to the Committee of Privileges.

Since Chew  had been denied his day of justice before the Committee of Privileges of the last Assembly, the state general election on Saturday served as a People’s Court for the voters of Kidurong to individually and directly pass judgment on the rights and wrongs of the State Assembly action in referring Chew to the Committee of Privileges.

Chew’s re-election in Kidurong on Saturday, with a historic  1,664-vote majority which is the biggest-ever majority ever in the constituency, is a “loud and clear” verdict of the people of Kidurong vindicating Chew’s stand in the State Assembly and guilty judgement for  the abuses of power by Wong Soon Koh and the mindless Barisan Nasional majority in the last Assembly

Will the Barisan Nasional representatives in the new Sarawak State Assembly co-operate with the six DAP Assemblymen and women to create a First-World Assembly, First- World Sarawak and First-World Malaysia, or will they continue to abuse their overwhelming majority in the legislature to bully and shut-up  the Opposition?  Time will very soon tell.

This morning, I made some proposals about some measures for State Assembly reform and modernization – like official recognition of the post of Leader of Opposition the State Assembly, the establishment of Assembly Select Committees with cross-party representation to seek public consultation and hold public hearings on issues affecting the general public.

Tonight I want to make another proposal which should be the centerpiece of the agenda of State Assembly reform and modernization in Sarawak.

The Sarawak State Assembly should have live telecast of its proceedings, making it the first legislature in Malaysia -  even earlier than Parliament  - to have such live telecasts.  This will be another example that Sarawak to lead the rest of Malaysia to bring the country into a new future of First-World mentality and mindset, and not just follow the examples whether by the Federal Government or other States.

(23/05/2006)