The Registrar of Societies (ROS) decision to disqualify DAP central executive member Lim Guan Eng from holding office is regretted as the offences for which he was charged do not carry that degree of seriousness, said the partys deputy president Karpal Singh.
In a press statement today, Karpal said the charge has inevitably stopped Lim from holding office in the DAP.
Lims recourse which is final now is to appeal to the home affairs minister within 30 days. My legal firm has been informed by the ROS by letter dated Feb 28, said Karpal, who is also Lims counsel.
There is no doubt there is merit in the application dated Oct 21 last year made on behalf of Lim for exemption, he added.
Karpal said an appeal to Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will be made soon.
I hope Abdullah will consider favourably the appeal on the merits, and not be influenced by irrelevant political considerations, he said, adding that Lims positive contributions during his tenure as member of Parliament should not be forgotten.
On Feb 28, Philipose Thomas on behalf of the ROS issued a letter to Karpals office rejecting an appeal by Lim to be exempted from Section 9A(4) of the ROS Act (1966) which disqualifies a person from holding office in a political party or organisation.
During DAPs last congress, Lim was elected one of the 25 central executive members. He offered to resign but the offer was withheld by the CEC pending a decision by ROS.
Whither justice?
On Feb 28, 1995, Lim was accused of prompting "disaffection with the administration of justice in Malaysia" for stating that "double standards" were being applied by the attorney-general in a statutory rape case against former Melaka chief minister Rahim Tamby Chik.
Mohtar Abdullah, who was the AG then, had decided not to prosecute Rahim, while the underaged alleged victim, a 15-year-old Muslim schoolgirl, was placed in the custody of a welfare home for three years.
The girl had admitted to having had a sexual relationship with the minister and 13 other men who were subsequently prosecuted but later released.
On March 17 the same year, Lim was accused of maliciously printing a pamphlet containing allegedly "false information", specifically because he had used the term "imprisoned victim" in reference to the rape victim who was restrained.
The case had aroused considerable public disquiet and criticism, from including Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamads daughter Marina, who in a newspaper article published in November 1994 under the title "Whither justice?" described the authorities' treatment of the girl as a "gross mockery of justice".
In 1998, Lim was imposed with two concurrent 18-month prison terms sought by the prosecution. Due to his conviction, Lim was barred for five years from standing for election, which had ruled him out of the last general elections in 1999.
