Dear Mr Secretary-General Loke, 

I'm writing to you as a 21-year-old constituent registered to vote in Klang, Selangor, to ask for confirmation that Mr Charles Santiago, the current Member of Parliament, will not be replaced as the DAP candidate for Klang in the upcoming general election.

Mr Santiago has been an excellent MP. He has a proven track record of community service and support during the pandemic and the December 2021 floods. 

Mr Santiago is one of the few Malaysian lawmakers who speaks up in Parliament and is extremely present on the ground in Klang. He has defended trade unions, refugees, labour rights, healthcare, climate change, citizenship issues and human rights and consistently engaged with the community through various programs and events. 

I, and the signatories of this petition, urge DAP to confirm that Mr Santiago will continue to defend his seat as Klang MP in the upcoming General Election for the sake of the Klang people and DAP's future as a party. 

The only reason Klang is an opposition stronghold is because of Mr Santiago. If you replace him, this will disrupt the sure-win for DAP in Klang and signal to the voters that DAP is a party that does not care about what is best for the rakyat. 

As a voter, I can confidently say that I will vote for Mr Charles Santiago no matter what party he is in, but I am not confident that I will vote for DAP if Mr Santiago is not my representative.

It will be highly disappointing if our opposition, the only hope we have for Malaysia, behaves in a manner no different from BN/UMNO. How are you answerable to us, the rakyat, if you don't choose our representatives based on merit? The party's name is the Democratic Action Party; how can you, in good conscience, advertise that the party is "Democratic" when the party blatantly ignores the voices of the people, the essence of a party being democratic?

Let me also highlight, Mr Secretary-General; no other candidate embodies DAP's spirit of a multiracial party than Mr Santiago. Mr Santiago serves all the people in Klang with every fibre of his being, he does not hesitate for a second to help the most vulnerable people regardless of race and religion, and it is quite apparent that the Klang constituency recognises this. You have seen over the weeks the Indian community, the Chinese Community, the Malay community, various NGOs, and the Klang constituents have all announced that he is the man for Klang. Can the party really say, sir, that he is not the man for the job? With all due respect Mr Secretary, this is a great shame, and it spits on the party's commitment to multiracialism as the party rejects the candidate whom the people love.

In short, Mr Secretary, I and the signatories of this petition want to caution you on the devastating effects this will trigger by removing Mr Santiago. With the highest amount of respect, we, the people of Klang, formally request that Mr Charles Santiago be given the seat in Klang.

 

 

尊敬的陆秘书长，

作为一名在雪兰莪州巴生登记投票的 21 岁选民，我写这封信给你，要求确认现任国会议员 查尔斯 · 圣地亚哥先生 在即将到来的巴生选举中不会被替换为行动党在来临大选的候选人。

圣地亚哥先生一直是一位出色的议员。在大流行和 2021 年 12 月的洪水期间，他在社区服务和支持方面有着良好的记录。

圣地亚哥先生是为数不多的在议会中发言的马来西亚立法者之一，并且在巴生非常活跃。他为工会、难民、劳工权利、医疗保健、气候变化、公民问题和人权辩护，并通过各种计划和活动与社区保持一致。

我和这份请愿书的签署人，敦促民主行动党确认，为了巴生人民和行动党作为政党的未来，圣地亚哥先生将在即将到来的大选中继续捍卫他作为巴生议员的席位。

巴生成为反对派据点的唯一原因是圣地亚哥先生。如果你取代他，这将破坏行动党在巴生的必胜局面，并向选民表明行动党是一个不关心什么对人民最有利的政党。

作为选民，我可以自信地说，无论他在哪个党派，我都会投票给查尔斯·圣地亚哥先生，但如果圣地亚哥先生不是我的代表，我没有信心投票给行动党。

如果我们的反对派——我们对马来西亚唯一的希望——表现得与国阵/巫统没有什么不同，那将是非常令人失望的。如果你不根据功绩选择我们的代表，你将如何对我们负责？党的名称是民主行动党；当一个政党公然无视人民的声音，一个政党是民主的本质时，你怎么能凭良心宣传该党是“民主的”？

秘书长先生，我还要强调一下；没有其他候选人能像圣地亚哥先生那样体现民主行动党的多种族政党精神。圣地亚哥先生竭尽全力为巴生的所有人服务，他毫不犹豫地帮助最弱势的人，不分种族和宗教，而巴生选区显然认识到了这一点。过去几周你已经看到印度社区、华人社区、马来社区、各种非政府组织和巴生选民都宣布他是巴生的人选。行动党真的可以说，先生，他不是这个工作的人吗？恕我直言，秘书长先生，这是一个巨大的耻辱，因为该党拒绝了人民喜爱的候选人，它对党对多种族主义的承诺表示不满。

简而言之，秘书长先生，我和这份请愿书的签署人想提醒你，剥夺圣地亚哥先生竞选席位将引发的破坏性影响。怀着最崇高的敬意，我们巴生人民正式要求查尔斯·圣地亚哥先生在巴生获得席位。