DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang said today that whether or not he contests in the next general election is not an issue compared to the future of the country after a change of leadership later this year.

He said the direction where Malaysia is headed for after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad retires in October should be ascertained first before his own political career is discussed.

"Whether I contest or not is not important. What is important is the nation. If you want to know about the candidates or party policies, then ask the party's secretary-general (Kerk Kim Hock)," Lim was quoted as saying by Bernama .

He was asked after a Chinese New Year function in Penang today if he would emulate Mahathir and several other Barisan Nasional leaders who have expressed their wish to quit and make way for new faces.

Full power

Commenting further, he said equally important was the need to ensure that Mahathir's deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, when assuming the premier's office, will have the full power to lead the country and not take along "the burden and baggage from the previous Cabinet".

Lim, 62, was first elected a member of Parliament in 1969. He served as the DAP secretary-general from the same year until after the 1999 general election, in which he lost in his bid for the Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat in Penang.

He had then offered to resign from his party post but had later changed his mind, citing support and wishes from the party grassroots. He has since been made the party's national chairperson while his predecessor Dr Chen Man Hin was made the life adviser.