by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 20th June 1994:
If Keng Yaik does not want to use the courts for his political ends, then let him produce proof of his allegation of so-called DAP-PAS Secret Jakarta Meeting on April 16, 1990 or publicly apologise and withdraw the unfounded allegation
Gerakan President and Minister for Primary Industries, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik is playing his favourite role of ‘Thief Shouting Thief when he alleged that I am using the courts for my political ends.
It is Keng Yaik who is guilty of trying to seek refuge in the courts to serve his political ends.
If Keng Yaik does not want to use the courts for his political ends, then let him produce proof of his allegation of the so-called DAP-PAS Secret Jakarta Meeting on April 16, 1990, or he should be gentlemanly enough to publicly apologise and withdraw his unfounded allegation.
If Keng Yaik is prepared to do one of these two things, I am prepared to withdraw my defamation suit against him.
Keng Yaik should stop being a hypocrite when he is the one who is using the courts for his political ends. Keng Yaik should have the basic decency and morality to feel ashamed that he has not been able to produce any proof to substantiate his allegation of a DAP-PAS Secret Jakarta Conference on April 16, 1990.
UMNO has just summoned an extraordinary general meeting to amend the UMNO constitution on money politics to raise the ethics and morality of UMNO.
But Keng Yaik, as Gerakan President, has no concept of ethics and morality and could feel proud that for more than four years, he could tell a lie when he could not produce an iota of evidence to substantiate his preposterous DAP-PAS Secret Jakarta Meeting on April 16, 1990.
If Keng Yaik does not feel ashamed for himself, he should feel ashamed for Gerakan as a whole that it has no concept whatsoever about ethics, morality and propriety.
I believe if it was Dr. Mahathir Mohamed or Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who had made the allegation about the DAP-PAS Jakarta Secret meeting in Jakarta, and they found that they have no evidence, they would have publicly withdrawn their allegation.
Two years ago, Mahathir alleged that I was not concerned about the Serbian atrocities against Bosnians, but when I sent him my various press statements condemning Serbian ‘ethnic cleansing’ and genocide of Bosnians which had been blacked out by the press, especially by the electronic media, Mahathir wrote me a letter to withdraw his allegation.
Keng Yaik cannot be more wrong when he alleged that the DAP has no issues for the next general elections.
If the Barisan Nasional leadership are so confident that the DAP has no issues for the next general elections, why should the Barisan Nasional government continue to exercise so tight a control over the mass media, especially over Radio and Television?
If the DAP has no more issuers for the next general elections, then the Barisan Nasional government should remove restrictions on press freedom and democratise the electronic media and let the people judge whether the DAP has no more issues left!
The refusal of the Barisan Nasional Government to allow press freedom and democratise the electronic media is a confession by the Barisan Nasional that the DAP has many potent and relevant issues which the government is afraid to allow ventilation over the electronic media.