Kit Siang: 'I believe Teresa did not report her ex-aides to MACC'

Summary

• Former DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang has come to the defence of Teresa Kok over a controversy surrounding an MACC probe against two of her former officers.

• This comes amid allegations that the DAP vice-chairperson had used the MACC to influence the upcoming party polls.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has expressed his backing for DAP vice-chairperson Teresa Kok against a controversy that surrounds the MACC probe against two of her former officers.

Lim said he had spoken to Kok about the issue involving her former officers and believed the Seputeh MP was not responsible for their arrests.

The former DAP chairperson cited a report on Kok’s admission that a recent corruption probe into her former staff could affect her chances in the upcoming DAP central executive committee (CEC) election.

“If this were to happen, it would be most unfortunate indeed. I had occasion to ask Kok what happened, and she told me the whole story.

“I believe Kok did not report the matter to the MACC and was not responsible for the arrest of her two former officers.

“I believe she stands for integrity, accountability, responsibility, good governance and democracy,” Lim said in a statement today.

Party polls concerns

Yesterday, Kok spoke to Malaysiakini about the MACC case.

According to Kok, party delegates who know her former aide could not accept her decision to terminate his service last year, and they might use their votes to punish her.

On March 6, the DAP vice-chairperson revealed that the MACC had arrested two of her former staff who had previously managed finances and constituency funds at her service centre before resigning last year.

Kok believes the MACC investigation is related to the purchase of smart boards at allegedly inflated prices.

She explained that in late October last year, the Federal Territories Implementation Coordination Unit under the Prime Minister’s Department contacted her to inform her that her constituency’s allocation had been used to channel RM99,000 to 16 schools for smart boards and smart TVs.

However, Kok stated that she never approved such a large-scale allocation, and further investigations found that the company issuing the invoices was a fraudulent entity.

It is understood that one of the individuals MACC detained in connection with the case is a candidate in the DAP election.

Following this, allegations have emerged accusing Kok of using the MACC to influence the upcoming CEC election.

However, Kok insisted that she had no influence over the MACC and denied filing a report with the commission.

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