DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang has admitted that an incident which saw party leaders and members stepping on the photographs of three Perak state assemblypersons, was a mistake.

NONE "The Perak DAP convention ‘doormat incident' on Sunday was not the best of political judgment, taste or example," said Lim in a statement today.

"I was taken by surprise when confronted with the doormat and tried to avoid stepping on the three pictures but not completely with success," he added.

During the convention, a huge banner with photographs of three former Pakatan Rakyat state assemblypersons, who defected in February, was placed outside the convention hall as a sort of doormat.

The trio are Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang), Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) and Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang), with the last being the most stepped on as she was from DAP.

The incident attracted heavy condemnation from Umno leaders and even drew criticism from Pakatan Rakyat allies PKR.

A reminder to all

NONE Under intense pressure, Perak DAP apologised for the incident on Wednesday and expressed regret to all they had offended.

Lim said he "fully shares" the apology made by his Perak DAP counterparts, adding that he had suggested them to apologise on the day of the incident.

He said the incident served as a reminder to all politicians to be mindful of Malaysian sensitivities and the likelihood of issues being turned racial.

"The DAP leadership has learnt from the mistake. But have the Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships learnt any lessons, whether before or after? The answers to both can only be in the negative," he said.

Several pro-Umno websites and blogs have painted the incident as minority Chinese stomping on the photographs of two Malay state reps.

‘You have done worst'

Meanwhile Perak DAP chairperson Ngeh Koo Ham said the state committee assumed full responsibility for the doormat incident.

"DAP leaders who were invited to the convention should not be blamed. Umno and BN leaders who criticised Lim Kit Siang over the incident has no sense of justice and are hypocrites for failing to criticise their own members who have acted in more terrible manner," he said in a statement today.

"The Perak DAP takes full responsibility for the doormat incident and we have apologised to all Malaysians who felt offended by it," he said.

He asked BN/Umno members not to be hypocrites by attacking DAP and its leaders over the incident.

He added that they (BN/Umno members) had in the past been guilty of similar misdemeanours, including the burning of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's poster earlier this week and the stepping on the portrait of Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon last year.