by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Saturday, June 1, 1991:
Is Tan Ghim Hwa prepared to accept full responsibility if anything should happen to me ?
Penang Gerakan Chairman, Tan Ghim Hwa, has not only denied that the Gerakan is behind the phone threat to my life and limb, he even said that the phone threat is non-existent.
I find Ghim Hwa’s statement in very bad taste. He can deny that the Penang Gerakan has anything to do with the phone threat to my life and limb, but how could he say that the phone threat is untrue and non-existent?
Is Ghim Hwa prepared to accept full responsibility if anything should happen to me or my family?
I am surprised that Ghim Hwa is so quick to deny that there is no such phone threat at all. How does he know?
Within 48 hours, Ghim Hwa has acted and spoken in very bad taste. The first time was when he tried to exploit the death of Madam Saraswathi Dewi and publicly attacked me for misleading the people of Prai for my misjudgement in the selection of Asamaley as candidate.
This was why I called Ghim Hwa a political vulture, as he had been completely silent for the past few months-particularly at a time when the hawkers in Penang were being harassed and persecuted daily by the State Government and the Municipal Councils-but he immediately came alive when there was a death.
This was also why I had given notice that if the Penang State Government proposes to nominate Tan Ghim Hwa as Senator in the State Assembly meeting on June 17, the DAP Assemblymen will oppose strongly, for we do not think that a political vulture should represent the people of Penang in the Dewan Negara.
I have my suspicion of the identity of the persons responsible for the phone threat to my life and limb. Apart from what I had said publicly, I have also told a few party leaders of my suspicion of another likely source of the phone threat-which is connected with a recent issue which had caused grave national concern.
The DAP Selangor Assemblyman for Klang Bandar, Chua Kow Eng, was assaulted and grievously hurt by hired hands last month for speaking up for the people. But DAP MPs and Assemblymen will not allow such threats to our life and limb to cow us from continuing to serve the people.
There is growing violence in Malaysian society which everyone should be concerned about. If such violence should reach a stage where elected representatives of the people are threatened with harm to their life and limb for carrying our their political beliefs and serving the people then Malaysia would have entered a very lawless period.