By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Sunday, 29th August 1993:
Twelfth challenge to Liong Sik to accept within a week: To appear before a DAP inquiry into his Bolton Finance scandal
Last Sunday, MCA President Datuk Dr Ling Liong Sik challenged me to lodge a police report within a week that he (Dr Ling) is corrupt because of his Bolton Finance scandal and that if he was found to be corrupt, he would retire from politics, or alternatively, I should retire from politics.
Liong Sik must have known in advance the outsome of the Anti-Corruption Agency investigations into the MIC President and the Minister for Energy, Telecommunication and Posts, Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu and the RM150 million MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal, which must have given him the inspiration to issue his challenges.
I have declared in Penang two days ago that I have totally lost confedence in the Anti-Corruption Agency with its clearing of Samy Vellu and conclusion that “no criminal offence has been disclosed” in the scandal. I had also announced that I was personally withdrawing all co-operation from ACA in utter disgust at the outsome of 17 months of ACA investigations into the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal, which has turned out to be a farce and total waste of public funds.
Until the ACA could restore my confedence in its seriousness, independence and integrity as far as fighting corruption, breach of trust, abuses of power and unethical practices in high political places are corcerned, I am not going to lodge any report about corruption or abuses o power involving top political leaders for it would be just an utter waste of time.
Liong Sik should have released by now that he had again been misled by his cow dung political counselors to make a third major misjudgement in three months to issue this challenge to me.
The question is that every Malaysian is asking is why Liong Sik dare not take legal action to defend his name, character and reputation if he believes that I had charged him with being corrupt.
Clearly, a person who dare not take legal action to clear his own name when he had been accused of being corrupt, and could only make the weak response of challenging that a police report be made, is not fit to be a political leader, Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister- let alone president of a political party.
I must remind Liong Sik that time is running out against him as far as my eleven challenges for him to accept within a week.
In fact, tomorrow is the last day for Liong Sik to accept m first challenge, which is for him to declare him family asserts before Thursday.
I am today issuing my twelfth challenge fro Liong Sik to accept within a week: to declare his dealines to appear before a DAP inquiry into his Bolton Finance scandal as I have lost total confedence in the ACA.
Liong Sik’s Bolto Finance scandal arose because of two contradictocy versions which he gave in July 1990 to explain his ownership of five million Bolton Finance shares, which amounted to 25.7 per cent of the company.
In one version, Liong Sik said that he bought the five million Bolton Finance shares when he was expelled from the MCA during the MCA crisis in 1984, and that he was given a 100 per cent financing from a source which he did not want to reveal.
In another version, Liong Sik said that he had actually held the five million Bolton Finance shares as proxy for Tan Sri Lim Tham Leong so that the latter could circumvent Bank Negara regulations on ownership of financial institutions. In this version, which was given front page coverage in the local press, Liong Sik said that there was a written contract between him and Tan Sri Lin Tham Leong giving the latter the full power of attorney to dispose of the five million Bolton Finance shares which cost RM10million.
If Liong Sik is completely honest and above-board with egard to his five million Bolton Finance shares, then he should be prepared to appear to appear before a DAP Inquiry requiring him to answer all questions about their purchase, financing and subsequently sale.
Thirteen challenge to Liong Sik: To explain why the MCA is putting pressure on Bukit China trustees, Cheng Hoon Teng, to return the DAP’s cheque of over RM33,000 for beautification of Bukit China.
I am also issuing my thirteenth challenge to Liong Sik for him to accept within a week
I challenge Liong Sik to deny that the MCA leadership is putting pressure on the Bukit China trsustees, Cheng Hoon Teng, to return the DAP’s cheque of over RM33,000 which we have sent to Cheng Hoong Teng for beatification of Bukit China.
Liong Sik should explain why the MCA leadership is putting pressure on Cheng Hoon Teng to return the DAP’s cheque, which is the collection from the DAP Save Bukit China One Person One Dollar Fund together with interests.
I must warn Liong Sik that his cow dung counselors have again misjudged and miscalculated if they think that by pressuring Cheng Hoon Teng to return the cheque to DAP, MCA would have scored a political point and it would be able to continue to play politics with the issue.
This is because the DAP has nothing to hide and we want the people to remember the successful and historic Save Bukit China campaign ten years ago, and we want to thank Liong Sik and his cow dung counselors for giving us the idea to launch a year long nation wide commemoration of the great DAP Save Bukit China campaign beginning from October this year.
It is the MCA and Liong Sik who have a dishonourable past to hide from public view, and this is why Liong Sik has up to now dare not deny that ten years ago, he was fully involved in the conspiracy by the Malacca Chief Minister, Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik, to demolish Bukit China which was foiled by the DAP Save Bukit China campaign.