DAP stalwart Lim Guan Eng will celebrate the restoration of his civil and political rights on Aug 25, exactly six years after his conviction.

To mark the occasion, the opposition party will organise a mammoth dinner themed 'Justice for All' at a Chinese school in his political home ground of Malacca. Some 2,000 supporters are expected to attend.

"I have been informed that the dinner tickets for the 200 tables are almost sold out," said DAP publicity chief Ronnie Liu when contacted yesterday.

He added that other leaders such as Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail are also expected to attend the event.

The party is also organising another similar, but smaller, dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 27.

"The dinners, apart from celebrating the return of Lim, is also to protest any form of political persecution," said Liu.

Controversial accusation

Lim, the son of DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang, was convicted under the Sedition and Printing Presses and Publication Acts in 1998 and sentenced to 18 months in jail after he lost his appeal against a charge of publishing false news.

He was found guilty of distributing pamphlets accusing former Malacca chief minister Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik of allegedly having sex with a minor, a controversy which led to the former's resignation.

Due to his conviction, Lim lost his Kota Melaka parliamentary seat which he had held since 1986.

Apart from this, he was also barred for five years from contesting for party positions and the general elections. He had also failed twice in his bid for a royal pardon .

Rahim had filed a defamation suit against DAP but withdrew it when the party in an unprecedented move last October conceded in a court declaration that it had made a 'wholly unfounded' allegation against the former chief minister.

Not 'overly excited'

Contacted today, Lim said he is looking forward to Aug 25, but he is not 'overly excited' about it.

"August 25 is the day of restoring my rights, which have been wrongfully taken away. It is a celebration of liberalisation, so to speak, but I am not too overly excited because the rights were wrongfully taken away from me in the first place," he added

Asked on his immediate plans, he said he will carry on as usual and continue to serve the people in Malacca as he has been done over the past five years.

"In practical sense, it will be just another ordinary day for me. It is different in the legal sense, so there are some cheers," he added

Lim has also yet to state his decision on whether to contest at the DAP congress slated for Sept 4 and 5.

In a statement today, DAP organising secretary Tan Kok Wai said a total of 44 leaders have been nominated to contest for the central executive committee and those who wish to reject their nomination should notify the party before Aug 21.

Commenting on this, Lim said he had not received an official letter from the party as yet and declined to elaborate on his stand.

"It is not important what posts you hold because there is no financial gain anyway. More importantly is that we can continue to play a role and contribute to an equal and just society," he added.

There was speculation earlier that the party congress, which was initially scheduled for August, was deferred to September to allow Lim to be nominated as secretary-general after Kerk Kim Hock stepped down from the post.

Party leaders however have dismissed this.