Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, at the Kuala Lumpur High Court after filling defamation suit against Shin Min Daily News on Saturday, February 5, 1994 at 11 a.m.
I will sue Keng Yaik for his statement over RTM that my quick and strong reaction showed my ‘guilty conscience’ with regard to the allegation that Australian spies had bribed Opposition politicians.
I will sue the Gerakan President and Minister for Primary Industries, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik who said over RTM TV English news on Saturday night that my quick and strong reaction showed my ‘guilty conscience’ with regard to the allegation that Australian spies had bribed Opposition politicians.
I hope as a veteran politicians and senior government leader, Keng Yaik would have the honesty and courage to admit what he had said as I do not have a tape recording of the RTM English news of Saturday night. I have not myself seen the RTM TV news but many Malaysians who had seen it had told me about it as well as expressed their outrage that Keng Yaik had accused me of having a ‘guilty conscience’ which was a direct accusation that I was the Malaysian opposition politician who had been bribed by Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) agents.
I have asked my lawyer, Sdr. Karpal Singh to write to Keng Yaik to ask him to confirm that he had said that my quick and strong reaction showed that I have a ‘guilty conscience’ with regard to the allegation that Australian spies had bribed Opposition politicians.
A dishonest and cowardly politician will refuse to admit what he had said publicly, and would even responding to the request for confirmation.
As Keng Yaik is a Cabinet Minister and President of a Barisan Nasional component party, I do not expect him to behave in such a dishonest, dishonourable and cowardly manner, but to have no hesitation or fear in admitting what he had said publicly.
Malaysians would be very surprised if Keng Yaik acts in a dishonest, dishonourable and cowardly manner by refusing to respond to my lawyer’s letter for confirmation.
I would have difficulty in the defamation suit against Keng Yaik if he refuses to confirm what he had said on RTM TV news, as I do not have a tape recording, but it would be unfair at this stage to prejudge Keng Yaik and assume that he would be so dishonest, dishonourable and cowardly in not daring to admit what he had said publicly against me.
I reject Paul Keating’s explanation that the Australian Government cannot comment on the allegation on ASIS bribing Malaysian politicians.
Last Friday, when DAP leaders met the Australian High Commissioner John Dauth, I handed to him a protest letter to the Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating which demanded that the Australian Government declare its stand on the allegation, as well as making public a full list of Malaysian politicians who had been bribed by Australian spies.
In the letter, I asked Paul Keating to agree to the establishment of a Joint Malaysian-Australian Public Inquiry into the allegation or the Australian Government should offer the ASIS former agents who had made the allegations and all other ASIS agents who had operated in Malaysia in the past as witnesses in a Malaysian Public Inquiry into the allegation.
I have received a response from Paul Keating through the Australian High Commissioner, John Dauth, who wrote that he had been asked by the Australian Prime Minister to reply to the protest letter.
I must however reject Paul Keating’s explanation that the Australian Government cannot comment on the allegation on the ground that “It is the long-established practice of successive Australian Government to make no comment no matters relating to the operations of intelligence agencies” and that “For such a policy to be sustainable, one cannot depart from it to comment on specific allegations, however mischievous or inaccurate they may be.”
In his letter, John Dauth said: “However much we might like to be able to clear the air on this occasion, our position has to be that the Australian Government will not comment on these particular allegations.”
It is very clear from the Canberra Times report of 3rd February that the Sydney Sunday Telegraph report of January 16 was most ‘mischievous and inaccurate’ when alleging that ‘senior opposition politicians’ had been bribed by Australian spies, when in fact it was the government politicians and UMNO leaders who had been bribed by Australian secret intelligence agency.
The Australian High Commissioner also said that Paul Keating had asked him to reiterate that “as he (Paul Keating) has said on many previous occasions, the Australian Government values highly Australia’s relationship with Malaysia. He (Paul Keating) hopes that political parties in both countries can work to promote the interests which we are convinced Australia and Malaysia share, and to exploit the many mutually beneficial opportunities for political, cultural and commercial co-operation which are now offering.”
The latest development in the allegation, which cleared Opposition politicians and pin-pointed government politicians and UMNO leaders as the ‘traitors’ who had been bribed by Australian spies has only reinforced the demand that the Australian government make an except of its policy and reveal everything about the ASIS bribery of Malaysian government politicians.
I call on the Australian Government to reconsider its refusal to declare its stand on the issue and to reveal all details about the ASIS operation in Malaysia in recruiting and bribing government politicians and UMNO leaders until four years ago.
This is because the earlier Sydney Sunday Telegraph report alleged that the cash payements to the Malaysian politicians who were bribed by Australian spies began “when the MPs were junior politicians and increased as the receipients grew in stature’.
Another clue of government politicians and UMNO leaders who were bribed by Australian spies has been given by the Canberra Times – “politicians who were seen as potential contenders for power”.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed had said that if the Australian spies’ bribery allegation was not reported in the Australian Press and if the matter had not been raised by former intelligence officers in Australia, the Government wouldn’t know. He added: “I suppose if they raise it, they ought to know because they are the people involved.”
Call on Mahathir to give assurance that government would be equally firm and determined in wanting to know who are the ‘traitors’ now it is known that it is government politicians and not opposition politicians.
DAP calls on Dr. Mahathir to give an assurance that the government would be equally firm and determined in wanting to know who are the ‘traitors’ who received bribes from Australian spies now that it is established that it is the government and not opposition politicians who were implicated.
DAP also reiterates its call for the convening of an emergency meeting of Parliament to demand that the Australian Government come clean on its espionage operations in Malaysia and the recruitment and bribery of government politicians and MPs, as well as the establishment of an All-Party Parliamentary Committee to go to Australia to investigate into the allegation.
I will seek an appointment with Dr. Mahathir when he returns from his official visit to the Philippines to ask him to consider both these proposals.
Lim Keng Yaik and Koh Tsu Koon should publicly apologise for defaming Opposition politicians as having been bribed by Australian spies when the ‘traitors’ are Barisan Nasional politicians.
In the past ten days, certain irresponsible Barisan Nasional political leaders had demanded the harassment, persecution and victimisation of Opposition politicians – even subtly focussing on me in the Chinese newspapers – as being guilty of having accepted bribes from Australian spies and become agents of a foreign power.
The worst culprits are the leaders from the Gerakan, especially Gerakan President and Minister for Primary Industries, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik and the Penang Chief Minister, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon.
Keng Yaik demanded that the personal finances of Opposition leaders should be investigated and even making the false allegation that the DAP had more money than the Barisan Nasional in general elections.
In view of the Canberra Times, will Keng Yaik be consistent and demand that the personal finances of all government politicians and UMNO leaders should be investigated, and a full report laid before Parliament?
Tsu Koon went even further, alleging that it was not only foreign government agencies, but also foreign mass media which had bribed opposition leaders.
This led Berita Minggu, in its editorial dated 30th January, 1994, to write:
“Berasaskan kenyataan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon pula, kelmarin pemimpin pembangkang juga menerima bantuan kewangan daripada beberapa agensi berita and kerajaan negara asing bagi menjalankan kegiatan antikerajaan dengan matlamat memalukan pemimpin negara.”
“ ‘Tiada angin, takkan pokok bergoyang’.”
Lim Keng Yaik and Koh Tsu Koon should have the humility to publicly apologise for defaming opposition politicians and MPs as having been bribed by Australian spies when the ‘traitors’ were Barisan Nasional leaders.
Apart from the defamatory statements by Keng Yaik and Tsu Koon in the past ten days, several newspapers also carried reports of reactions from Barisan Nasional parties which have defamed my character and reputation.
I have decided to institute legal proceedings against Shin Min Daily News, and my lawyer, Sdr. Karpal Singh and I are studying the reports in two other newspapers before deciding whether to institute defamation proceedings.
I have no intention of suing any nameless publicity bureaus of component parties of Barisan Nasional as I will hold newspapers which publish their defamatory statements fully responsible and liable.
Apart from these other two newspapers, we are also deciding whether to institute legal proceedings against Berita Minggu for its editorial of 30th January 1994.
IGP should explain what he meant when he said that preliminary police investigations had found some evidence to back up the Australian spies’ bribery claim implicating Opposition politicians.
My attention has just been drawn to the Utusan Malaysia report yesterday quoting the IGP, Tan Sri Rahim Noor, as making a statement that preliminary police investigations had found some evidence to back up the Australian spies’ bribery claim implicating Opposition politicians.
Tan Sri Rahim Noor should explain what he meant and how the preliminary police investigations could find some evidence to back up the allegation that Australian spies bribed Malaysian opposition politicians when it is now clarified that it is government politicians who were bribed by Australian spies.
Did Wisma Putra and Government suppress Canberra Times report yesterday because it was unfavourable to the Barisan Nasional?
Finally, Wisma Putra and the Government must explain why they suppressed the Canberra Times report clarifying that it was government politicians and not opposition politicians who were bribed by Australian spies.
The Australian High Commission, which is based in Canberra, must have faxed the Canberra Times report to Wisma Putra and the Malaysian Government yesterday morning itself.
Why did Wisma Putra and the Malaysian Government suppress the Canberra Times report?
In failing to make available the Canberra Times report to the Malaysian public – in the same way as the Cabinet made available the Sydney Sunday Telegraph report to the nation ten days ago – Wisma Putra and the Malaysian Government have proved that they are biased and operate to serve the interests of the ruling parties rather than the nation and people.
I have no doubt that if the Canberra Times had carried a report yesterday reinforcing the allegation that Malaysian oppositions politicians had been bribed by Australian spies, such a report would have been made available to all media yesterday itself and it would have been splashed over TV and radio last night and in the newspapers this morning.
The Foreign Minister, Datuk Abdullah Badawi, owes the people of Malaysia an explanation why Wisma Putra and the Malaysian Government had been so insincere, dishonest and even deceitful over the Canberra Times report yesterday, as well as in the handling over the whole scandal of Australian spies bribing government politicians in Malaysia.
Mohamad Rahmat must name the Opposition party which he alleged had received a substantial amount of money from an Australian Agency and be prepared to be sued in court for defamation.
Information Minister, Datuk Mohamed Rahmat was reported in the press today as alleging that an Opposition party had received a substantial amount of money from an Australian agency in the 1990 general elections to fight the Barisan Nasional.
Mohamad Rahat must name the Opposition party and politicians in his allegation and be prepared to be used in court for defamation.
If Mohamed Rahmat cannot name the Opposition party, then he is being most irresponsible and mischievous and is unfit to continue as Cabinet Minister.