A Malaysian Dream - The Life & Times of Lim Kit Siang

Denzel Washington transcends racial barriers. He is unable to ‘blacken’ his script no matter how hard he tries resulting in roles being swappable with every Cruise, Pitt, Chou and Chan. He did not create the ethnic-neutral genre through acting lessons. It is an inherent character flaw that enables him to turn his wonderful character into a subliminal teaching device. 

Lim Kit Siang transcends racial barriers. He simply does because the longest serving politician in the Malaysian Parliament has a similar character flaw. He did not evolve into an ethnically-neutral Malaysian by rote. He was born one. Period. The quintessential politician is a walking Chinese, Indian, Malay and other race-combines, rolled into one. 

In essence, he is Malaysia’s ubiquitous teaching device in the true sense of the word and being his job description, he simply does not have an option. Chance upon him on the street and say something - anything. He responds gregariously with his trademark smile and instinctively, you know he has got you covered. 

He enters Parliament for a single purpose - to expose the guilt and machinations of corrupt politicians and captains of industry who, incidentally, are his main critics. Anyone who critiques the man is perceived corrupt or to harbor skeletons. 

A bulwark against fundamentalism, the diehard secularist is despised by a quill breed of 'holy men' who harbor dreams of an ‘Islamic’ Malaysia. Ironically though, some of these characters ride on his coattails and publicly declare him a ‘pragmatic ally’. 

Tomas Masaryk (1850-1937), President and founder of Czechoslovakia passed away two years before Hitler occupied his country. Masaryk anticipated Hitler's idealism and was his fiercest critic. During his lifetime, it was said, “As long as Masaryk lives, Hitler won’t start war."

The humanism and courage of Masaryk and Kit Siang are linked. The epitaph of the Malaysian politician will read “As long as he lives, Malaysia will not be Islamic.” 

Words - Tommy Peters



Afterword: The quotes were attributed by the writer to Karpal Singh in a previous post. The documentary was sourced from the YouTube channel of the Democratic Action Party.

(Advanced appreciation is rendered for materials used without the express permission of copyright owners - March 14, 2011)