Why use 1MDB to 'silence' Harapan's U-turns?

MP SPEAKS | I find it very amusing that Lim Kit Siang had to write a lengthy statement in response to my Facebook post but chose to ignore the crux of the issue - him making a U-turn on his earlier statement of DAP leaving Pakatan Harapan.

Lim had said DAP would leave Pakatan Harapan government if the objective of a New Malaysia is abandoned, but when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he had no idea what Lim was talking about, Lim then issued a statement denying his earlier remarks. He said, "I never said that DAP was quitting Harapan. All I said was that the DAP would not be like the MCA leaders…"

It is obvious that Lim changed his tune after Mahathir made his candid comment. However, instead of admitting that he has made a U-turn, Lim attempted to divert our attention by bringing up the 1MDB scandal in his latest statement. All of us can tell by now that 1MDB is DAP’s go-to issue when it needs to cover its own shortcomings in administering the country since taking over Putrajaya.

I’d like to ask Lim, when will Pakatan Harapan recognise UEC (Unified Examination Certificate)? This is a promise made by DAP to its supporters prior to GE14. Please don’t tell me that UEC cannot be recognised because of 1MDB.

Is 1MDB the culprit that caused the fall in commodity prices?

Where were you when the Harapan government U-turned on its decision to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd)? Was it 1MDB that stopped you from objecting to this U-turn?

And what did you say when PM declared that the objective of our country's sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional was to uplift Bumiputera only, while it was previously for all Malaysians? Was this shift in focus caused by 1MDB as well?

And was it 1MDB that kept you quiet about the government's approval of the crooked bridge which you had vehemently opposed in the past?

I can list out many more examples of you and your party betraying your own so-called principles.

I have made my stance clear on 1MDB that the priority is to recover any money allegedly missing, develop 1MDB's remaining assets and that all wrongdoers should be tried in the courts.

Let the judicial system decide on their involvement and punishment, if necessary. As stated in the fourth guiding principle of our Rukun Negara, we have to respect the rule of law.

In fact, the same should also apply to Lim Guan Eng’s controversial bungalow purchase. Just a few months into Harapan’s rule, the prosecution dropped the corruption charges against Guan Eng over his purchase of a bungalow at below market value, instead of letting the court to decide his innocence. It was a “shocking” decision for many, including Mahathir and the MACC.

As for the Penang tunnel scandal, which happened during Guan Eng's tenure in Penang, the concession company and the Penang government had confirmed several times that RM22 million was paid to certain parties in an attempt to stop corruption investigations.

What had happened to this case? Is paying tens of millions in bribes, not a serious matter or a criminal matter? Does Kit Siang approve of such practices in paying tens of millions in bribes?

The 1MDB issue cannot be DAP's multi-purpose excuse to be exploited every time Harapan runs into controversy or when DAP has trouble justifying why it had betrayed its own principles, betrayed those who had supported them and when it needs to divert the people’s attention from its failure in fulfilling its promises.

Move on.

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WEE KA SIONG is the MP for Ayer Hitam. -Mkini