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I have never agreed at any time that Keadilan contest in Lunas by-election

Media comment
by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): I refer to the Berita Harian front-page headline report today quoting PAS President, Datuk Fadzil Noor as saying that I had agreed that Keadilan contest the Lunas by-election. If Fadzil had not been misquoted, his statement is misleading and incorrect as I had never agreed at any time that Keadilan contest in the Lunas by-election.

The Berita Harian report under the headline "Muslihat pakatan pembangkang terbukti - Kit Siang setuju Keadilan tanding di Lunas", reads:

"KUALA LUMPUR, Rabu – Muslihat pakatan pembangkang untuk meraih undi Melayu dalam pilihan raya kecil Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Lunas, terbukti apabila Pas mengakui DAP sendiri bersetuju menyerahkan kerusi itu kepada Parti Keadilan Nasional (Keadilan).

"Bagaimanapun, persetujuan itu dipercayai dibuat dalam perbincangan membabitkan pemimpin tertinggi tetapi tidak dimaklumkan kepada ahli DAP untuk mengelakkan strategi berkenaan terbongkar.

"Presiden Pas, Datuk Fadzil Noor dan Timbalannya, Abdul Hadi Awang, yang ditemui pemberita hari ini mengesahkan Pengerusi DAP Kebangsaan, Lim Kit Siang, bersetuju supaya Keadilan bertanding pada pilihan raya kecil itu.

"’Saya berjumpa dengan beliau (Kit Siang) dua hari sebelum penamaan calon dan pada dasarnya, beliau bersetuju calon Keadilan bertanding di kawasan itu.

"’Kit Siang sendiri sudah lihat reaksi akar umbi dan sebab itu kita setuju untuk berbincang sesama gabungan parti pembangkang. Keadaan setempat menjadi satu faktor penting untuk menang berdasarkan populariti satu-satu calon,’ katanya yang ditemui di lobi Parlimen di sini."

I did not meet Fadhil two days before the Lunas by-election, but I had a telephone conversation with him on Sunday morning where I clarified that I had not visited Lunas the previous day to announce that the DAP would represent Barisan Alternative in the Lunas by-election as reported by Bernama, which was pure concoction and that I would be visiting Lunas only that night.

I had never at any time agreed that Keadilan contest the Lunas by-election.

I had found the unscrupulous manner the media had been used in the run-up to the Lunas by-election by certain "allies" to stake their candidate claim most disgusting - going to the extent of planting stories particularly in the Chinese-language media smearing DAP leaders.

I am breaking my silence for the past three days, which was the result of pure disgust at such unscrupulous politics in the Barisan Alternative, to put the record straight following the incorrect report in the Berita Harian today.

(23/11/2000)

*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman