The DAP disciplinary committee appears to be reluctant to tackle the issue of its renegade Penang leader who joined the opposition by-election campaign in Indera Kayangan, Perlis, despite a party ban.

The committee's chairperson, Chong Eng told malaysiakini today that a meeting is yet to be convened to determine the fate of Nibong Tebal member of Parliament Goh Kheng Huat.

"There are more important issues to discuss," said Chong.

Goh who ignored warnings by party leaders and participated in the campaign, had said he was willing to face the consequences.

A DAP source claimed the disciplinary committee may be "reluctant" to discuss Goh's case due to the contradicting opinions over his actions.

"There are some who believe we should expel him yet there are others who want to go easy on him," said the source.

It is learnt that this has forced the party into an awkward spot. If it expelled Goh, it would be seen as undemocratic; on the other hand, if it was to let him off with a warning, this would irk those who supported the party's ban.

Personal capacity

Meanwhile, the source said despite Goh's claim that he was in Indera Kayangan in his personal capacity, it is believed that he did not act on his own.

There were Keadilan members such as Gooi Hock Seng, a "strategist", who were backing him, added the source.

It is common knowledge that Goh is a protg of Gooi, a former DAP strongman in Penang.

Goh was also spotted among the Keadilan delegation who accompanied the party's candidate, Khoo Yang Chong, to the nomination centre on Jan 10.

The renegade leader also joined Keadilan in the nine-day campaign period which ended on polling day last Saturday.

On Dec 31, the DAP central executive committee resolved not to participate in the campaign for the by-election and barred party members from going to Perlis.

The CEC said since the party had withdrew from the Barisan Alternatif, there was no need for DAP to join the campaign.

Clarify claims

In another development, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said all his party wanted was to clarify the conflicting and contradictory claims by different Keadilan members on the voting trend in the Indera Kayangan by-election.

However, the veteran politician said, he was "threatened" not to pursue the matter. He declined to reveal who had issued the threat.

Lim said DAP was not interested in "the exchange of epithets or indulging in the game of numbers".

He added as Keadilan leaders are unable to throw light on the claims, "we can let the matter rest there".

On the allegations that DAP has become more 'Barisan Nasional' than the BN itself and that it endorsed the 'dirty tactics' used by the ruling coalition during the by-election, Lim said they were "not worth [giving] attention [to]".

Yesterday, Keadilan vice-president Azmin Ali criticised Lim for not commenting on MCA's performance or BN's dirty tactics.

"Instead he (Lim) has been criticising Keadilan. Is he speaking on behalf of BN? It seems that DAP has become more BN than BN itself," said the Keadilan leader.

Azmin also claimed that Keadilan could garner Chinese support without DAP's help.

He said DAP should be honest about the outcome of the by-election result especially in the three Chinese-majority areas which saw an increase of votes for the Keadilan candidate.

The three areas, according to Azmin, are Pekan Lama, Pengkalan Assam and Pekan Baru, where the percentage of Chinese votes for Keadilan saw a 15.4 percent, 6.4 percent and 17.3 percent increase respectively.