Karpal to Khairy: Say sorry to Guan Eng

The DAP national chairman says that a police report on criminal defamation would be lodged against the Umno Youth chief if he fails to tender an apology.

GEORGE TOWN: The DAP has given Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin a 24-hour ultimatum to apologise to Lim Guan Eng and his family for villifying the Chief Minister’s son in a Twitter message.

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh said that a polic report on criminal defamation would be lodged against Khairy tomorrow if the latter fails to tender an apology.

He said the report would be lodged after the handing-over ceremony of the double-storey house keys by the state government to 24 former Kampung Buah Pala residents in Bukit Gelugor.

Karpal, the Bukit Gelugor MP, said DAP would also proceed to file a civil suit for defamation against Khairy for the latter’s Twitter message in Bahasa Malaysia that was posted early this week.

The message read: “Mungkin dia (Lim) roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada.”

In English translation: “Maybe he (Lim) demolished Kampung Buah Pala to replace it with Kampung Buah Dada (Breast Village).”

Khairy posted his comments following spurious attacks by Umno bloggers that Lim’s son was transferred from his school after he allegedly molested a fellow female student.

However, the alleged victim, a 21-year-old former world chess champion identified as Anya Corke, has publicly refuted the claims, insisting that she had never met Lim’s son.

The principal of Heng Ee Chinese secondary school, in which the incident was alleged to have taken place, Goon Boon Poh, also denied such an incident occurred.

Karpal called on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to instruct Khairy to apologise to Lim, his family and especially Lim’s son, who is said to be undergoing counselling conducted by the state education department.

He also urged Najib to remove Khairy as Umno Youth chief and reject his candidature in the next general election.

“Khairy is a disgrace to Oxford University, to Umno Youth, to Umno and to the country,” he added.

He said DAP would use the Khairy issue as a campaign material in the next general election.

On the Penang Sessions Court judge Chan Jit Li, who gave him a hug after delivering a judgment, Karpal said: “It was just a two-million ringgit slight hug. Any disciplinary action against her would be misplaced.”

He added that he knew Chan for 42 years since she was 11 when he was a young lawyer in Alor Star.

On Oct 8, Chan ordered bank manager Lau Yee Fuat, 49, to pay more than RM2 million in damages to Karpal over an accident six years ago which left him confined to a wheelchair.