Unfavourable media comments in the past week depicting Lim Kit Siang as "aged, ancient, decrepit and fit for the political old folks' home" have forced the veteran opposition politician to defend himself.

Countering news reports criticising his 'relevance', Lim said the hypocrisy of the Barisan Nasional-controlled media has already reared its ugly head for the 2004 elections.

"One newspaper for instance, kept reminding its readers that I am 63, failing to mention that the new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is older than me by two years," said the former opposition leader in a four-page press statement issued this morning.

In response to a report citing MCA president Ong Ka Ting, 48, asking when Lim would be stepping down, the opposition strongman said: "I will retire from politics once comparatively younger politicians like him are prepared to speak up and stand up against corruption, abuses of power, injustices and inequalities in the country..."

No political runaway

Lim also defended his right to consider other constituencies for the 2004 polls, saying that if he does move away from Penang, it would not be on grounds that he was "shopping" for newer, safer seats.

Rumours of Lim standing in Perak's Ipoh Timur and deputy chairperson Karpal Singh taking on Selangor's Petaling Jaya Utara have drawn criticism that the two leaders were abandoning Penang in favour of easier wins elsewhere.

While again declining to confirm where he and Karpal will be contesting, Lim said the media accusations were unfair - history has shown that he has made risky calculations, starting in 1978 when he moved from Malacca's Kota Melaka to "save the DAP stronghold of (Selangor's) Petaling from an intense MCA attack."

In four parliamentary and three state seat migrations away from safe ground, Lim's score has been four wins and three losses.

The one constant to all these decisions, he said, was not for personal comfort, but to "protect hard-won gains or to take it to a higher level."

In the case of 1999, where he moved from his three- term seat of Tanjong for Bukit Bendera against Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye and lost, Lim said it was a decision to break the political hegemony of the BN.

"In the event, I lost by 104 votes. I have no regrets about leaving a safe seat to contest in a high risk for a larger political objective which is always larger than my personal win or loss, as this is not the first time that I had put my neck on the chopping block," he said.

Watching in consternation

Also defending his compatriot Karpal, Lim said Karpal's single move from Alor Star to Jelutong in 1974 was in line with ambitions to make Penang the 'frontline state' in opposing former premier Mahathir Mohamad's 'One Language, One Culture' policy of 'assimilation'.

"I believe I can speak on behalf of Karpal that both of us thank and appreciate from the bottom of our hearts the messages and sentiments of support and encouragement after our defeats in the 1999 general election, and their expression that both of us are missed because of our absence from parliament.

"I believe both of us are still capable of making contributions in parliament. I for one had been watching with consternation the transformation of parliament in the past five years.

"In my 30 years in parliament, the term 'Islamic state' was never heard for there was no dispute whatsoever that the mainstream nation-building agenda was the creation of a secular democracy with Islam as the official religion.

"It is in light of these larger political considerations... that the DAP leadership must decide the placement of candidates," said Lim.

He said he would make an announcement on his decision regarding the seat he will contest in the coming two or three days.