by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Saturday, 5th June 1993:
Koh Tsu Koon was being most dishonest when he explained that he had no choice but to separate the official opening of the State Assembly and the working State Assembly sitting because he had to join in Dr. Mahathir’s 350-men delegation to China on June 13
The Penang Chief Minister, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, has at last been ‘flushed’ out of his silence and ‘hide-out’, and forced to explain his undemocratic and unconstitutional attempt to violate the six-month rule in the Penang State Constitution and the Penang State Assembly Standing Orders requiring the State Assembly to meet at least once in six months.
I must say that Dr. Koh Tsu Koon was being most dishonest when he explained that he had no choice but to separate the official opening of the State Assembly and the working State Assembly sitting because he had to join the 350-men delegation accompanying the Prime Minster, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, in his second visit to China from June 13 to 22.
Dr. Koh Tsu Koon argued that his joining the 350-men delegation to accompany Dr. Mahathir in his China trip is very important to Penang, and I agree. But this is no justification for his undemocratic and unconstitutional violation of the six-month rule in the Penang State Constitution and the Penang State Assembly Standing Orders aimed at ensuring constant and continuous accountability of the Penang Chief Minister and the State Exco to the State Assembly.
Is Dr. Koh Tsu Koon suggesting that he knew of Dr. Mahathir’s China trip only in the last minute, and that he had no time, choice or room for maneuver except to separate the official opening of the Penag State Assembly by the Penang Yang di Pertuan Negeri on June 12 from its working State Assembly sitting 11 days later on June 23?
Tsu Koon is using Mahathir’s China trip as a lame excuse to justify his undemocratic and unconstitutional violation of the six-month rule
The 350-men delegation joining Dr. Mahathir to China were given several months of advance notice, and there is no excuse for Penang State Assembly to meet, say from the end of May onwards, so that he could join Dr. Mahathir’s China tour without having to violate the State Constitution and th Penang State Assembly Standing Orders.
Dr. Koh Tsu Koon could have done two things when he received notice several months ago to join Dr. Mahathir in the China visit on June 13.
Firstly, he could schedule the Penang State Assembly meeting in such a manner where there would be no conflict with the China visit. On the other hand, he could pounce on the opportunity to further delay Penang State Assembly meetings and even to separate the official opening and the working State Assembly meeting by using the China visit as an excuse in order to put off holding Penang State Assembly meeting as long as possible?
It is now clear that Dr. Koh Tsu Koon decided on the latter option – and the China visit of the Prime Minister from June 13 to 22 is just lame excuse for his undemocratic and unconstitutional decision to violate the six-month rule in the Penang State Constitution and the Penang State Assembly Standing Orders.
Dr. Koh Tsu Koon said that the Penang State Executive Councillors and he are not afraid of facing the Penang DAP State Assemblymen in the State Assembly. If this is the case, he would not have acted on the second option.
What Dr. Koh Tsu Koon should explain to the people of Penang is why he chose the second rather than the first option.