DAP has urged the Keadilan candidate for the Gaya by-election not to distort history by blaming the former for the downfall of the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) state government in 1994.

In a statement yesterday, DAP candidate Dr Hiew King Cheu said Keadilan's Christina Liew was being untruthful in blaming DAP, and charged that she was doing it in her own interest.

Liew alleged in a malaysiakini report on Wednesday, that the presence of DAP in the 1994 Sabah election had resulted in many three-cornered fights with the opposition PBS and the ruling BN, resulting in a split in the opposition votes. This, she said, eventually led to the downfall of the PBS government.

She cited as example, the Elopura seat in which BN's Tham Nyip Shen garnered 4,854 votes against the 3,984 votes won by PBS and the 870 that went to DAP. Tham won by a majority of 871.

And in the Tanjong Papat seat, BN's Tan Su Kiah received 3,614 votes, winning by a majority of 87. He beat Lai Lun Tze of PBS who got 3,527 votes and the DAP candidate, who had 1,282 votes.

Commenting on Liew's statement, Hiew clarified that DAP participated in the 1994 Sabah elections following PBS' departure from the opposition front Gagasan Rakyat.

"There was no bond between the DAP and PBS at that time. Besides, it was the DAP's right to contest in the election," he said.

"It was crystal clear to all Malaysians that the main reason fall of the PBS government at that time was due to many state assembly representatives of PBS having been induced to cross over to BN," he said, refuting the charge that DAP's participation in "a few seats" had resulted in PBS' fall.

Hiew, who is also the DAP Kota Kinabalu branch chief, was dismayed by his fellow opposition contestant's 'attack' on his party as he said the battle now should be against BN, not among the opposition.

"I urge Christina Liew to keep to her word that the fight between DAP and Keadilan is a friendly fight and to stop throwing untruthful accusations against DAP, so that supporters of our respective parties will not be confused," he cautioned.

DAP is hoping to see a repeat of 1986 when it pulled off a surprise victory in Gaya through Gerald Math, who won by 8,000 votes.

The Gaya seat fell vacant following the disqualification of its Member of Parliament, SAPP president and the state's former chief minister Yong Teck Lee, for an election offence ruled by the Federal Court on Sept 3.

DAP and Keadilan once partners in the opposition front Barisan Alternatif which includes PAS and PRM have been at loggerheads over seat allocations in several past by-elections. In almost all cases, the former has had to give way to the latter for the sake of opposition unity.

DAP left the front in September last year due to irreconcilable differences with PAS over the Islamic state issue.