Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has denied issuing a five-page statement when refusing to debate MCA deputy chief Wee Ka Siong over the controversial Penang undersea tunnel issue.
"I have only issued a 1.5-page statement, another three was a previous statement to Wee on Feb 14, asking him to reply to some queries about his remarks on the undersea tunnel, which he has yet to reply," Lim told a press conference in Penang today.
"I am going to issue the three-pages again as more than a month has passed and he has not replied, every time we caught him lying and asked him to come clean, he does not reply, but creates new lies," he said.
"These questions involved Wee accusing us of allowing a fashion company to build the tunnel, among others," he added.
The DAP secretary-general was responding to Wee, who yesterday accused him of being coward for not wanting to debate him.
Wee also said Lim had to issue a five-page statement to refuse debating him as he (Lim) knew he would lose the challenge.
"Coward? Ok lah..," said Lim in response to Wee, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department remarks, today.
"Because I am a coward, I fight Umno, go to prison and was detained under the ISA twice... I fight and expose 1MDB and questioned why the superyacht (belonging to the illusive Penang-born business tycoon Low Taek Jho) was not claimed by the Malaysian government.
"Maybe because I fight Umno and BN, go to prison twice or fight 1MDB, that makes me a coward' it is okay, as long as it makes Wee happy," Lim quipped, tongue in cheek.
Lim and Wee had locked horns since early this year over the status of the RM6.3 billion tunnel and three highway roads project in Penang, with the MCA leader claiming there were elements of a scandal involved in the matter.
Lim, however, dismissed the claim by saying the project is "clean" as it was awarded via an open tender to Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd.
After weeks of responding to each other via statements, Wee finally challenged Lim to a debate, to which the DAP leader rejected.
Lim said he would agree to the debate if the challenge came from MCA president and Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai (photo) as he is the number one leader in MCA.
But Wee insisted on the debate, saying the number one leader in DAP is Lim's father, Kit Siang, the Gelang Patah MP.
Lim then continued to chide Wee for failing to understand that the post of secretary-general is top in most parties.
He cited the case of the People's Action Party in Singapore where the Prime Minister is not the chairperson of the party but the secretary-general.
"We hope that Wee respects the position and admits that he is not the number one in MCA.
"He, of course, tried to belittle me and put me down despite the fact I have been chief minister in Penang for 10 years," Lim said at a press conference in Komtar.
"In my capacity as secretary-general since 2005, I would like to remind Wee that even his former president Dr Chua Soi Lek respects this post.
"He had challenged me to a debate and I accepted as the number one man must challenge the number one man," he added.
Lim said Wee had shown a lack of respect for the post of secretary-general in his party.
He noted that despite not agreeing with Prime Minister Najib Razak, he had to accept the fact that the Umno chief is still Malaysia's number one leader.
Lim reiterated that if MCA wants to debate with him, the challenge must come from Liow.
He reminded Wee that he is merely the number two man in his party, unless he thought that he was number one.
"If he thinks he is number one in his party, he better start contesting for the post, but he is not.
"I would not be respecting my post if I challenge the number two post in MCA but if the challenge comes from the MCA president, we will look at it seriously," Lim said.
He also said that Chua may not have been a minister at the time but when he challenged Lim to a debate it was accepted as he was then the number one man in MCA.
"I hope Wee does not put himself bigger than he is and respects not only basic protocol but also the party president," said Lim.
"If he wants to run me down and say that the top leader in DAP is my father Lim Kit Siang, then this is just a personal attack," Lim added. -Mkini
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