Step down as DAP chairman, Boo tells Guan Eng

 

Lim Guan Eng can resume his new position of DAP national chairman after he is freed by the courts, says Dr Boo Cheng Hau.

PETALING JAYA: Johor DAP leader Dr Boo Cheng Hau has called on Lim Guan Eng to step down as the national chairman of the party, citing his ongoing undersea tunnel corruption trial.

Boo said DAP’s new central executive committee members should be free of any baggage to spur the party forward in regaining the people’s confidence and facing the looming general election.

“Any leader bogged down by corruption charges or scandals should take the initiative to resign from public office to avoid sending a wrong signal on the party’s values to the public and affecting the party’s standing in GE15.

“I believe the national chairman (Guan Eng) is a capable leader and would be able to make a comeback any time if he is proven innocent in court.

“I humbly opine that the national chairman should step down,” he said in a statement today.

Boo, a former Skudai assemblyman, said Guan Eng should step down out of “his love for the party”. He urged party mentor Kit Siang to also advise his son to relinquish his position.

He also urged DAP deputy national chairman Gobind Singh Deo to recuse himself from acting as Guan Eng’s counsel in court to avoid any conflict of interest, including the possibility of replacing him as the chairman.

He said it would be hard for DAP to maintain its principles and core values if it was led by individuals with court charges, adding that using “political persecution” as a defence indirectly exerted “undue pressure” on the judiciary.

“Hence, it is against our party’s long-term stand in upholding judiciary independence.

“I believe a decisive resignation from his post is actually good for the national chairman and party’s image. DAP cannot condone Umno’s way of handling issues like this while we strive to be a world-class political party and nation.”

Boo cited how Singapore’s People’s Action Party and Workers’ Party both required leaders or members facing corruption charges to either quit or be expelled from their parties.

“This is how a world-class political party should be managed. DAP and its national chairman should abide by these leaders’ standards,” he said.

Separately, Boo told FMT he was ready to be criticised for his statement but maintained that DAP needed to change or risk losing public confidence due to “cancerous cells”. - FMT