DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang today sardonically said cabinet minister Paul Low has turned himself into a 'shock-absorber' for his boss Najib Razak by finding excuses for the latter's absence at the ongoing 16thInternational Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Putrajaya.

Najib, reminded Lim in a statement, was supposed to officiate the major event while showcasing himself as an exemplary global leader in fighting corruption.

Therefore, the premier's last-minute decision to pull out from the event was both embarrassing and disgraceful, said the Gelang Patah parliamentarian.

"It has turned out to be the nadir of Najib’s premiership in transparency, good governance and anti-corruption with 'two elephants not one in the room'," he said.

Lim was referring to the debt-ridden1MDB fiasco and the controversy of Najib ( photo ) receiving a RM2.6 billion 'donation'.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Paul Low had said earlier today that Najib was advised not to attend the conference due to an expected hostile reception he would receive.

This excuse, however, was ridiculed by Lim.

"Imagine some 1,000 delegates from 130 countries attending an international conference turning 'hostile' against the head of government of the host country!

"Unthinkable ... unimaginable! " he said.

Still not too late

"Nobody had known that Low’s job as minister was to be 'shock-absorber' for Najib to remove all the 'shocks' that can accrue from the failure to have an effective and meaningful anti-corruption campaign.

"Is this finally Low’s job specification as minister? To enter the lion’s den on behalf of the prime minister to absorb all the 'shocks' from the failure of the campaign against corruption ?"

By attending the IACC, the DAP veteran leader said, Low had also discovered the IACC delegates to be 'quite civil'.

Thus, Lim said, it was still not too late for the minister to persuade his boss to attend the conference to at least show up at the closing ceremony on Friday.

According to Lim, Low can either tell Najib to honour his commitment to attend the IACC and address the questions and doubts about his government’s anti-corruption campaign or resign for failing in his ministerial assignment.

"Only Najib himself can address the 'two elephants in the room', the twin mega-financial scandals," he said.

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