I am compelled to respond to DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang's statement against Gerakan's leadership on the issues of corruption, Islamic state and the use of English to teach mathematics and science in primary schools. I would also like to offer some highlights on DAP's current political strategy and integrity, or the lack of it.

My colleague Ong Kian Ming has pointed out to Lim that he has taken a speech on corruption by Gerakan vice-president Dr S Vijayaratnam out of context. A politician of Lim's stature should not be merely reading headlines when choosing to respond. The headline in Kwong Wah Yit Poh was carried as such: 'Malaysia's corruption culture not serious - Vijayaratnam: 34th placing out of 102 countries'.

It failed to encapsulate what Dr Vijayaratnam actually said in the delegates' conference, which was:

"Corruption is a disease that is felt not only in Malaysia but also in other countries especially in developing countries ... Malaysia is placed at 33 or 34. This is commendable but also shows that there is room for improvement. I agree with the speakers yesterday ... corruption should be abolished. There have been a few cases in the recent month where action has been taken against acts of corruption eg. the army, the MPAJ incident, stamping out of pirated VCDs (among) local councils in Tumpat, Kelantan and Langkawi, (and the) computer labs (issue). However, I feel that the government is serious in its intent to tackle this issue. All political parties should stress and emphasise the need for corruption to be eradicated."

If Lim is a politician of high integrity, he should apologise to Gerakan's leadership for his inaccurate and amateurish politically motivated statement. I challenge Lim to prove how Gerakan, or Dr Vijayaratnam, can be unpatriotic by calling for corruption to be eradicated, regardless of political affiliations?

Coming to the odd union between DAP and PAS in the last general election, the former was obviously trying to hoodwink the voters that together with PAS, it would be able to foster greater democratisation and human rights for the people. However, after capturing Terengganu, the PAS-controlled state government passed the hudud laws and other misguided restrictions on public life.

This in fact contributed to part of the reason why DAP abandoned the BA. Was Lim convinced then that PAS was more democratic and moderate than Umno?

To set the record straight, PAS has been very consistent with their Islamic state ambition, the raison d'etre of their political existence. It is Lim's ambition for power and DAP's political opportunism that lead to the odd union of DAP and PAS under the BA. Lim was confident that his party should ride the wave of the reformasi movement and PAS' growing influence to help the party capture more seats in the general election.

DAP did get an additional parliamentary seat, but sensing the return of Malay-Muslim support to Umno/BN especially after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks and the continued erosion of its Chinese support since the mid-90s, Lim had to steer DAP back to its original roots of Chinese chauvinistic politics.

DAP's 'Defend Secular Malaysia' and 'No to 929' campaigns are aimed at stirring Chinese Malaysians' religious sentiment and rally their support for DAP against the Malay-Muslim majority in Malaysia. This is again a DAP political strategy to reconsolidate its Chinese base, having abandoned it in the 1999 general election to collaborate with PAS.

This is also evident in the recent seat negotiation between DAP and Keadilan which left the latter frustrated with DAP's insistence of contesting all Chinese-majority seats. In retaliation, Keadilan named two of its leaders, Dr Lee Boon Chye and Tian Chua, as candidates for the Ipoh Timur and Petaling Jaya Utara seats - both Chinese-majority seats contested by DAP candidates in previous general elections. It will not be a major surprise if Keadilan replaces DAP as the main opposition party after PAS and knocks DAP into oblivion for its lack of political principle.

Lim has criticised Gerakan for supporting Dr Mahathir's statement made in its 30th Delegates' Conference that Malaysia is an Islamic country and in this regard has deviated from the social contract of 1957 to preserve Malaysia as a multi-religious country.

On the contrary, Gerakan's leadership has reiterated its stand to positively engage with BN component parties and all concerned NGOs to preserve the federal constitution and stop the expansion of extremism on all forms, including any effort to set up a theocratic state. It further pledged to protect Malaysia as a secular state, ruled by parliamentary democratic principles.

However, the party also recognises the fact that Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country with more than 52 per cent of its residents being of the Islamic faith. Hence, the party accepts plurality in definition: Muslims are welcomed to call this country an Islamic country and the non-Muslims can also freely define Malaysia as a secular or multi-religious country. What is more important is that the federal constitution remains as the highest authority of governance and protector of citizen rights and freedom.

DAP's insistent to compel the 52 percent of Muslim Malaysians to accept its 'secular' definition is a proof of its ignorance of Islam and the Islamic polity. Lim's inability to differentiate Islamic 'state' from Islamic 'country' is what has clouded DAP's political partnership with PAS.

PAS' Islamic state concept is not centred on the paramountcy of the federal constitution or parliamentary democratic principles, but on the Quran and Hadith as the source of laws and policies. Hence, DAP should be the one to apologise to all Malaysians for deviating from the 1957 social contract by being PAS' cohort.

On the use of English to teach mathematics and science subjects in primary schools, DAP's argument is consistent with Dong Jiao Zong. Both say that the policy of using English to teach mathematics and science subjects in Chinese primary schools would result in the change of their character and cannot be used as the main reason to reject its implementation.

A recent report by the Education Ministry revealed that one in four Chinese students in Malaysia failed to complete secondary education and the rate is virtually the same as that of Malays and other races. The study revealed that all the dropout students were taught in Mandarin in their schools. This breaks the myth that the use of Mandarin to teach mathematics and science in primary schools guarantees educational excellence.

Other problems faced by Chinese students after the completion of their studies include difficulty in finding jobs and social displacement, leading to social ills such as prostitution and criminal activities.

The main obstacle is the lack of English proficiency. Other issues that were identified include the post-modernist culture and the erosion of traditional reverence for education and scholastic achievement.

It is obvious that DAP has failed to contribute to national issues but is more content with playing racial cards, consistent with my debates with some of its party leaders on the issue of Chinese education.