DAP defector Keshvinder Singh has been slapped with a demand letter of RM500,000 in damages and a two-week notice to publicly apologise for denying that the RM3,500 personal loan from PAS Titi Serong assemblyperson Khalil Idham Lim was for arrears on his car loan repayments.

khalil idham lim If he fails to meet the demands, Khalil’s lawyer A Sivanesan will file a defamation suit at the Ipoh High Court.

Khalil ( left ) has also lodged a police report against the DAP defector at his home town in Parit untar.

On Friday, Keshvinder told Malaysiakini that he had borrowed money from Khalil for his Malim Nawar constituency work, and not for overdue car repayments.

He added that he did not approach Khalil for the funds, but that the latter had offered him the money.

Car impounded

Khalil has however refuted this claim during today’s media conference at Pakatan state headquarters.

keshvinder singh The assemblyperson said that Keshvinder ( right ) had sent him eight SMS messages on May 17, asking for financial help to settle his car loan arrears before the May 19 deadline.

According to Khalil, on May 19 at 1pm, he accompanied Keshvinder, his wife and child to one of Ambank’s branches in Ipoh.

Khalil says he then gave him RM3,500 to settle his car loan arrears – totalling about RM2,825 – before departing at 1.30pm to attend to his own commitments, leaving Keshvinder to retrieve the car himself.

Khalil retorted that he was not wealthy enough to go around asking people whether they needed money, and said he had to borrow from friends to help Keshvinder.

After the Malaysiakini report, he said he started receiving embarrassing calls from friends and supporters chiding him for his generosity.

Khalil maintains that Keshvinder was financially strapped when he quit his party to become an independent.

Keshvinder however denies this, claiming to have had RM35,000 in his bank account at the time.

Duty to support

DAP Buntong assemblyperson A Sivasubramaniam, who was also at the press conference, did not confirm Keshvinder's allegation that Khalil had lent money to Sivasubramaniam, but said:

"It is the duty of the Pakatan Backbenchers Club chairperson to not only financially support Pakatan members but also to help them when they faced other problems."

He however supported Khalil’s allegation that Keshvinder was facing financial problems when he left the party.

He says that Keshvinder, who is close to him, once confided his unhappiness with DAP to him, but Sivasubramaniam had persuaded him to stay on.

Sivasubramaniam has today urged Keshvinder to clear the air about the reasons for his resignation.

An angry Keshvinder said when contacted, “They are trying to distract me from carrying out my duties for my constituency, which I am doing now.”

He said the Pakatan reps should spend their time to concentrating on their duties instead to ensure they win the seats that they lost in Perak, warning that the public will tire of their stunts.

“First it was a proposed RM5 million compensation case against me and now it is a RM500,000 defamation notice, as they believe that I am a millionaire. But the reality is I am still a poor man and please don’t harass a poor man.”

Perak DAP state chief Ngeh Koo Ham had stated that the party will sue both Keshvinder and former DAP Jelapang assemblyperson Hee Yit Foong for RM5 million each for jumping ship, but later backtracked, saying that the public had opposed the proposed action.