GE14 | In a tit-for-tat, Lim Kit Siang said if he were to list down the slander from Umno and BN, it would be as thick as the entire 32-volume of Encyclopedia Britannica and would put the Kamus Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka to shame.

Earlier, caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak said that if he were to compile the slander from the opposition, it would be as thick as the Kamus Dewan.

An online check by Malaysiakini revealed that the fourth edition of the Kamus Dewan has 1,817 pages, whereas the 15th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica's 32 volumes have 32,640 pages.

Read more: Najib: List of opposition slander will be as thick as 'kamus dewan'

Meanwhile, Lim expressed his greatest sympathy to Najib, who said he and his family were often victims of opposition slander.

“But how could he be certain that opposition leaders were responsible for them? I myself have fallen victim to slander, but can I hold him (Najib) personally responsible?” he added.

The DAP veteran then challenged Najib to a public encounter with him regarding slander, for which political leaders can be held directly responsible.

“An encounter where each of us can cite five to 10 lies, fake news and false information in the past five years which the other must be held responsible.

“If Najib’s conscience is clean and he is prepared for such a one-to-one public encounter, let him say so, and we can move to the next stage of appointing representatives who will finalise the details with regard to the place, date and time as well as the conditions of such a public encounter – live telecast, audience participation, etc,” he added.

On Najib's accusation that opposition leaders who spread such slander do not know the meaning of respect or their responsibilities as an elected leader of the people, Lim said he agreed.

“Let Najib respond to my challenge to a one-to-one public encounter to let the Malaysian public know whether we have a prime minister who does not know the meaning of respect or responsibility as prime minister of Malaysia,” he added.

Over the past few days, Najib has repeatedly highlighted fake images and messages, which have been circulating on social media.

Blaming the opposition for this, he cautioned Malaysians against becoming agents of destruction by spreading such falsehoods.