PETALING JAYA, June 29 – DAP veteran Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang has urged voters in the six states in August to vote for the future of Malaysia to make it a world class champion in all areas, especially in education, and not fall for lies and hate speech that set one race or religion against another.
Voters should look at issues like making University of Malaya among the 50 best universities in the world, he said in a statement issued here today.
“Eighteen years ago, at the University of Malaya’s centennial celebrations in June 2005, the then Deputy Prime Minister threw the challenge to University of Malaya to raise its 89th position among the world’s top 100 universities in THES-QS (Times Higher Education Supplement-Quacquarelli Symonds) ranking in 2004 to 50 by the year 2020.
“University of Malaya has been unable to meet this challenge as it is ranked No. 70 in the QS World University Ranking 2023 and ranked 351-400 in the Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking 2023.”
Kit Siang said the six state polls in August will not be about the future of Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu alone, but also whether Malaysia can reset and return to the original nation-building principles of a plural Malaysia and be world champions again.
“Let Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender, unite as Malaysians in the six state polls to build better tomorrow in Malaysia for our children and children’s children.
“There are political forces which are spreading lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech to make Malaysians suspicious about each other and polarise the country, whether based on race, religion or culture, when Malaysia should be the role model of the world in inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony,” he said.
–WE