by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, on Wednesday, September 14, 1994:
DAP’s record as a responsible and constructive opposition can stand public scrutiny.
In Kota Kinabalu yesterday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, said: “We want responsible opposition… not those like (Lim) Kit Siang (the DAP Secretary-General). He is not responsible. He only digs dirty things… even things which are not dirty he makes it dirty”.
This is a most unfair and uncalled for statement, for the DAP’s record as a responsible and constructive opposition can stand public scrutiny.
Mahathir’s views on the opposition seems to be influenced by the nearness or otherwise of the general elections. Mahathir had previously gone on public record as appreciating the role played by the DAP – but this was a time when there was no general elections fever.
Now, with the approaching general elections, even the Prime Minister has not been spared from making unfair and unfounded allegations.
Let me state clearly for the record that the DAP does not “dig dirty things… even things which are not dirty he makes it dirty”.
For instance, the allegation of the Malacca Chief Minister, Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik having an affair with a 15-year-old girl was not “dug out” and made public by the DAP.
I invite the Prime Minister to conduct a public investigation as to who were responsible for ‘digging’ and making public the allegation of Rahim having an affair with a 15-year-old girl, and I have no doubt that any independent and impartial investigation will produce names who are all UMNO personalities!
And let me state that if I construe my political role and responsibility as ‘digging dirty things … even things which are not dirty he makes dirty’, I will be digging into the ‘dirty things’ of one Cabinet Minister, whose most recent escapade in the central region of the country is open secret to those in the know, including government circles!
I am not interested in the ‘dirty things’ of Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers or Mentri-Mentri Besar.
The DAP will however be relentless in our defence of the public, interest against corruption, abuses of power, breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds or sheer Ministerial incompetence and ineptitude whether it be the RM30 billion Bank Negara foreign exchange losses scandal, the Rahim Tamby Cik corruption scandals, MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal or the Kuala Lumpur International Airport scandals of Ling Liong Sik as Transport Minister.
I challenge Mahathir to a television debate on his allegation that I am not responsible Opposition and only digs ‘dirty things’.
I challenge Mahathir to a television debate on his allegation that I am not a responsible ‘Opposition’ and only digs ‘dirty things’.
If Mahathir has all the facts to justify his allegation, he would welcome a television debate with me to expose my sins of not being a ‘responsible Opposition’ and only ‘digging dirty things’.
I do not expect Mahathir to accept this challenge, not because Mahathir does not relish a debate, but because he knows that he has no case to present whatsoever to substantiate his allegation that I am not a ‘responsible Opposition’ and ‘only digs dirty things’.
On the contrary, in such a television debate, I would be able to overwhelm Mahathir with facts and examples of the responsible role played by the DAP and also rebut the allegation that I only ‘dig dirty things’.
May be, for a start, Mahathir can enumerate the ‘dirty things’ which he accused me of ‘digging’!
I only hope that Mahathir will set a good example to the other Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders not to allow the fever of the approaching general elections to make them say wild, baseless and even stupid things.