COMMENT | Lim Guan Eng should not divert or run away from a debate in the spirit of competency, accountability and transparency (CAT) by talking about party positions. Whether you are No 1 or No 2 is of no relevance or interest to the public. But whether you and your government are corrupted or not is the primary issue that needs to be debated.

If Lim or the DAP government are not afraid or have nothing to hide, they should practice what they preach and stand up to the public scrutiny or accept the debate challenge by Wee Ka Siong, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Obviously, Lim is afraid to face Wee who is known for his sharp and quick mind. Further, Wee have caught Lim with his pants down on his answers on the issues raised. It is noteworthy that DAP leaders, especially Tony Pua have been absolutely silent and not come to Lim's defence because of the many issues, discrepancies and lies, given by the DAP government in the course of the public scrutiny by Wee.

Lim must come clean and be seen to have nothing to hide. It is so lame of him to talk about protocol when the issues here are the abuse of powers, corruption and lies. These are valid issues and proper answers are not given, and there’s no respect for the public. We are not debating on MCA or DAP, on the party’s policies or philosophy, but the issues of mismanagement, scams and corruption as the core issues. 

Since Lim has failed to provide truthful answers and has been wishy-washy on the many issues raised by Wee, the next stage is naturally an engagement in a public debate whereby the rakyat will be the judge. Why is Lim so afraid? Why is he hiding behind protocols and party positions, which is of no relevance to allegations of corruption or scams by public officers?

Finally, Lim lied when he said he went to jail for fighting Umno when he defended a Malay girl who was raped. He was convicted for committing an offence by distributing false news and committing sedition. It was Anwar Ibrahim’s head counsel Gopal Sri Ram who was sitting in the Court of Appeal, who had increased Lim's sentence stating that “it is time, the court sends a clear message that it cannot tolerate any attack on the judiciary.”

Further, Lim through his counsel had also read out an admission of guilt in another suit as follows:

“We now realize that the basis for the allegations we made against Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik in the Book and Poster no longer exists and in view of this, the said allegations are wholly unfounded.”

Thus it is very obvious that Lim is afraid of his own shadows when he admitted that he’s a coward for running away from a debate with Wee. The party protocol or who he is fighting with to wrest power is of no relevance or significance to the public. His conduct, his competency and his decency are!

TI LIAN KER is the chairperson of the MCA Religious Harmony Bureau.

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