by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, July 25, 1993:
DAP calls on Mahathir to ensure that correct, proper and cordial relationship is maintained between Federal officers and the KeIantan Sultan
Reports that Federal officers in Kelantan have been instructed to ‘boycott’ the Kelantan Sultan is most disturbing and unhealthy.
The Sultan of Kelantan, for instance, has not been allowed to make an official visit to the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital and the Kota Bahru Hospital in conjunction with his birthday later this month.
There has also been reports that schools arid students in Kelantan have not been allowed to participate in the birthday celebrations of the Sultan of Kelantan,
DAP calls on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, to ensure that proper, correct and cordial relationship is maintained between Federal officers and the Kelantan Sultan.
Federal officers serving in Kelantan must recognise that the Sultan of Kelantan is also their Sultan during the period they are serving in the state.
Whatever the differences between the Prime Minister and the Sultan of Kelantan, this could not justify Federal officers in not having a correct and proper relationship with the Sultan of Kelantan.
Is Jeffrey Kitingan presently being detained illegally under the Internal Security Act?
Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Megat Junid Megat Ayub said in Ipoh yesterday that the police and the advisory board had submitted their recommendations for the extension of the detention of Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan – brother of Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan – under the Internal Security Act.
Datuk Megat Junid said the matter has been referred to the Prime Minister and “it is up to hint to decide”.
This is a most shocking statement, for if a decision on whether Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan’s detention should be extended has yet to be decided, it means that in the past, two weeks Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan had been illegally detained under the Internal Security Act.
Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan was arrested under the ISA on 13th May 1991, and the formal two-year detention order would have been served on him before the expiry of the 60-day period for interrogation before 13th July 1991.
This means that Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan’s formal two-year detention order under the ISA had expired for some two weeks. If Dr. Mahathir had not yet decided on whether to extend his detention, this would also mean that Jeffrey Kitingan had been illegally detained under the ISA in the past two weeks.
There is no law under the ISA to allow a person to continue to be detained after the expiry of the two-year detention order to allow the Home Minister to consider whether to further extend the ISA detention order or not.
There is also no law under the ISA for the Home Minister to order the extension of the ISA detention retrospectively, to cover the last two weeks.
The Malaysian public have a right to know the true facts of Jeffrey Kitingan’s detention under the ISA, and in particular whether he is presently detained illegally under the ISA after the expiry of the ISA detention order two weeks ago,
In this connection, DAP calls for the immediate release of Dr. Jeffrey Kitirigan, as his detention is purely politically-motivated and has nothing to do with any national security considerations.