DAP Youth (Dapsy) has described Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's speech at the United Nations General Assembly as "notable and respectable" but urged the premier to put the words into practice.

Its national secretary Loke Siew Fook said Mahathir's speech will be more meaningful if the latter had abolished several controversial legislations such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Official Secrets Act (OSA) in his 22-year-long premiership.

"Although no Malaysians will deny the contributions of Mahathir in economic and infrastructure development in the country, he must realise that he has fared badly in democratic reforms, rule of law and respect for human rights," Loke said in a statement today.

"The legacy he is leaving behind would certainly be more meaningful if he had abolished the ISA, the OSA, the Sedition Act, Universities and University Colleges Act and other draconian laws, nurtured a vibrant and meaningful participatory democracy, ensured a truly independent judiciary and created a culture of zero-tolerance to corruptions in all levels of government."

Noble ideas

Making his final address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Mahathir demanded that the UN's most powerful members restructure the UN Security Council as a demonstration of their commitment to freedom and fairness by moving to eliminate veto power.

The outgoing premier was also quoted as saying that "if we want to have democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, the powerful must demonstrate their commitment to all the noble ideas".

Loke expressed the wing's support to Mahathir's call because it was "no doubt" that the premier has rightly spoken up for developing and third world countries.

"However, if we want the world to respect Malaysia and take Mahathir's speech seriously, then the Barisan Nasional government must demonstrate their commitment to all the noble ideas," he stressed.

Although Mahathir (scheduled to step down by Nov 1) will have no chance to demonstrate what he said anymore, Loke added that nevertheless the next premier should take over this responsibility.

"The buck is now passed to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the new prime minister to carry out and demonstrate to the world what Dr Mahathir had preached on Thursday."