by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Wednesday, 14th February 1990:
Call on every Barisan Nasional MP to declare his/her individual stand on the removal of Vijandran as Deputy Speaker and Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman as Attorney-General because of the Vijandran pornographic videotapes scandal
While MIC President, Datuk Samy Vellu and Gerakan President, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, are trying to turn the Vijandran pornographic videotapes scandal into a farce, four Sarawak Barisan MPs have come out with a clear stand for the resignation of Vijandran as Deputy Speaker.
The call of the four Sarawak Barisan Mps, namely Datuk Peter Tinggom (SNAP – Saratok), James Jimbun (PBB – Kapit), Mutang Tugal (PBB – Bukit Mas) and Douglas Uggah (PBB – Betong) – however has not made clear whether they would support any motion in Parliament for the removal of Vijandran as Deputy Speaker, as well as whether they support the demand for the removal of Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman as Attorney-General for ordering the destruction of the eleven Vijandran videotapes and four envelopes of 2,000 photographs.
I call on every Barisan MP, whether in UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PBS, USNO, PBB, SNAP, SUPP, PBDS to declare his or her stand on whether Vijandran should be removed as Deputy Speaker and Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman removed as Attorney-General.
Cabinet Ministers not asked to pre-judge Vijandran but to act on information in the possession of government about contents of the Vijandran videotapes
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MIC President, Datuk Samy Vellu, said he could ask Vijandran to resign as Deputy Speaker any time, but if he did so, he would only be pre-judging the issue. What is even more significant is Datuk Samy Vellu’s statement that if leaders of Barisan Nasional component parties must be prepared to step down when accused of being involved in similar circumstances, “finally there may be no one left in the BN”.
I do not know what Datuk Samy Vellu meant, but he should be privy to a lot of information about the Barisan Nasional leaders which are not public knowledge, and Datuk Samy Vellu may have very good reason to make this prediction.
This is probably why the gerakan seems to be backing down from the fury of Datuk Samy Vellu, who has threatened to unearth “a lot of accusation” against Gerakan leaders.
Whatever the antics between the Gerakan and MIC leaders, the people must not be misled by Datuk Samy Vellu that in removing Vijandran as Deputy Speaker, the Cabinet Ministers would be pre-judging the guild of Vijandran.
In demanding the removal of Vijandran as Deputy Speaker, the Ministers are not asked to pre-judge Vijandran, but to act on the information in the government’s possession with regard to the nature of the contents of the eleven Vijandran videotapes and four envelopes of 2,000 photographs stolen from Vijandran’s house in August 1988.
The Police and Attorney-General know the contents of the eleven Vijandran videotapes and 2,000 photographs, and if there is nothing wrong or pornographic about them, why should Vijandran go on leave as Deputy Speaker, MIC Secretary-General and MAIKA Holdings Chairman?
Is every Cabinet minister prepared to swear that he or she has not seen the Vijandran videotapes?
Education Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, said in Jasin yesterday that the claim that the Cabinet had a viewing of the pornographic videotapes before Vijandran went on leave on leave was “nonsense”.
Nobody had ever said the Cabinet had met in a special session to have a special viewing of the Vijandran tapes, but I had said that I have reasons to believe that certain key Ministers had seen the videotapes. Is every Cabinet Minister prepared to make a statement on oath to swear that he or she has not seen the Vijandran videotapes at all?
Call on Anwar to declare that he does not know the contents of the Vijandran videotapes
Furthermore, key Cabinet Ministers, including Anwar Ibrahim, know very clearly the contents of the Vijandran videotapes. Is Anwar Ibrahim going to deny that he know the nature of the contents of the Vijandran videotapes, that he was not interested and was never told about the contents of the Vijandran videotapes, that the Cabinet has no interest whatsoever to know what are on the Vijandran videotapes from the Police and the Attorney-General?
Is this why Anwar had given full support to Vijandran in the December meeting of Parliament, personally moving the ministerial motion to suspend DAP MP for Jelutong, Karpal Singh, from the House for raising the Vijandran pornographic videotapes scandal issue?
Anwar told the press yesterday that the Vijandran pornographic videotapes issue should be left to the court to decide. Is Anwar declaring that he is opposed to the resignation or removal of Vijandran as Deputy Speaker?
The MCA Presidential Council meeting yesterday was again another disappointment, with the MCA Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Ting Chew Peh, saying that the Vijandran issue should be solved through the proper Barisan Nasional channels.
The MCA national leaders, from its President Datuk Dr. Ling Liong Sik, downwards, seem to have made it their open policy to make it clear to all and sundry that it has absolutely no stand or view whatsoever on the Vijandran pornographic videotapes scandal.