'There's a conspiracy out there to demonise me'

Today’s BN-owned and controlled media are full of pictures and story of the Parti Warisan Sabah vice-president Peter Anthony, in handcuffs and in orange-coloured MACC lock-up uniform being taken to the Kota Kinabalu courthouse to be remanded for five days for further MACC investigations in connection with the siphoning off of some RM7.5 billion meant for rural development projects in Sabah. 

I do not know anything about the latest Sabah corruption case, but I know there is a conspiracy and plot to get the MACC to arrest me under the allegation that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had given me a RM1 billion bribe and
parade me in handcuffs in orange-coloured MACC lock-up uniform.

This, according to the Umno/BN election strategists, would be the best way to counter the kleptocratic allegations against Najib over the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy.

The top Umno/BN election strategists had brain-stormed long and hard as to what is
the most effective way to counter the main issue against Najib in the “do-or- die” 14th
general election - the kleptocratic allegations, not only in Malaysia but worldwide,
against Najib because of the 1MDB scandal.

The most powerful and effective way to counter and destroy this attack on Najib over
kleptocracy and 1MDB scandal would be for Najib to prove that he is clean, honest
and trustworthy, that there is no 1MDB scandal and that the lies about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations against him as a kleptocrat and “MO1” are
just utter lies and falsehood.

Unfortunately, Najib had done nothing in the past few years to clear or cleanse himself of these kleptocratic allegations. In fact what Najib had done had only reinforced these allegations, as in Parliament, members of parliament are not allowed to ask questions or even debate the 1MDB scandal.

In fact, I was suspended from Parliament for six months because I insisted in wanting to know the full story about the 1MDB scandal.

This has presented the Umno/BN strategists with a great problem – how to counter
and destroy the kleptocratic allegations against Najib over the 1MDB scandal when
Najib cannot clear or cleanse himself of these 1MDB allegations?

The second best option for the Umno/BN strategists to deal with Najib’s kleptocratic
allegations over 1MDB is to neutralise them through a campaign of character-assassination of DAP and Pakatan Harapan leaders and tar them with corruption
allegations, to make the point that all political leaders whether BN or Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) is corrupt and that it is a matter of “half kati and six tahils”.

DAP secretary-general and Penang chief minister, Lim Guan Eng had been charged with corruption in a very clear cased of political persecution.

'Trying to implicate Dr M and me'

Now Umno/BN strategists are trying to implicate Mahathir and me in one of the
wildest allegations that Mahathir had given me a RM1 billion bribe, even claiming
that RM750 million had already been paid into my bank accounts outside the
country.

There are even some Umno/BN strategists who want MACC to arrest me over the
outrageous RM1 billion bribe allegation put me in orange-coloured MACC lock-up
uniform and parade me throughout the country as the best way to counter the
kleptocratic allegations against Najib.

Malaysians must know the truth of what is happening in the country. I will meet my lawyers next week on my instruction to them to take out a test case to sue the media which printed lies and defamatory material about me receiving RM1 billion bribe from Mahathir.

We are seeing a new modus operandi in character-assassination and spreading of
lies and falsehoods against DAP and Harapan leaders.

When we ignore the lies and falsehoods being spread at first outside the country and

later taken up in the country by irrelevant and inconsequential propaganda digits who
have no credibility whatsoever, Umno/BN-owned media would be used to spread
these lies and falsehoods.

Are these media protected from defamatory proceedings for re-cycling such lies and
falsehoods?

This is the test case which I have instructed my lawyers to initiate and institute.

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LIM KIT SIANG is DAP Parliamentary leader and MP for Gelang Patah.- Mkini