Gerakan's Baljit Singh criticises the DAP sec gen for his vacillating stand on party hopping.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan called DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng a hypocrite for his ‘consistent inconsistency’ in condemning political frogs from both sides of the political divide.
Its legal and human rights bureau head Baljit Singh recalled that Lim had swiftly condemned Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives hopping to Barisan Nasional as “frogs.”
He said Lim, the Penang Chief Minister, had also been quick to criticise those who defected from Pakatan to become a BN-friendly independent MPs.
However, he said Lim had strangely been voiceless when the hopping trend switched from BN to Pakatan.
He recalled that Lim’s silence was deafening when Pakatan de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim was openly touting defections from BN to help him to seize federal powers on Sept 16, 2008.
Unlike Lim, he said that DAP national chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh was the only Pakatan leader to condemn Anwar’s desire to takeover Putrajaya by defections.
“Where was Lim then? Why he was so quiet? The cat got his tongue?” asked Baljit.
“Perhaps he was more keen to know who is going to be the first non-Malay deputy prime minister of the country,” he told a press conference here today.
Also present were Penang Gerakan’s vice-chairman Dr Lim Boon Han, deputy youth chief Tan Kah Leong and bureau heads Dr Thor Teong Gee for publicity, information and communications, and Rowena Yam for political training.
Gerakan was responding to Lim’s statement in vernacular newspapers on Monday, in which he touched on Sabah’s political scenario.
In the last two weeks, Tuaran MP Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing, Beaufort MP Lajim Ukin and Senator Maijol Mahap have defected from BN and declared their support for Pakatan.
They said they had lost confidence in BN for its failure to resolve the illegal immigration problem in Sabah.
Blaming BN
Lim reportedly said that he could not understand on why the BN condemned the defectors as “frogs” when it was BN that encouraged the culture.
Lim has said the defectors could not tolerate the federal and Sabah BN ill-treating locals and ignoring their rights.
Lim has also stressed the need for the country to have an anti-hopping law to stop defections among elected representatives.
“When a rep quits a party, the seat must be elected again,” said Lim.
But he said BN would not enforce such laws because the coalition would need to buy reps.
On this, Baljit asked Lim to reveal “how much was in offer” when Anwar blithely encouraged defections from BN for his 916 coup agenda.
Baljit also asked whether the Sabah defectors can be called as “toads” since Lim hypocritically refused to term them as “frogs.”
He said he was also curious to know where Lim was when the parliamentary select committee for electoral reform came to Penang to receive feedback, recommendations and proposals.
“Gerakan pushed for an anti-hoping law to stop defections by all elected representatives. Why didn’t Lim say anything then? He has been consistent in his inconsistency,” said Baljit.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan called DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng a hypocrite for his ‘consistent inconsistency’ in condemning political frogs from both sides of the political divide.Its legal and human rights bureau head Baljit Singh recalled that Lim had swiftly condemned Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives hopping to Barisan Nasional as “frogs.”
He said Lim, the Penang Chief Minister, had also been quick to criticise those who defected from Pakatan to become a BN-friendly independent MPs.
However, he said Lim had strangely been voiceless when the hopping trend switched from BN to Pakatan.
He recalled that Lim’s silence was deafening when Pakatan de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim was openly touting defections from BN to help him to seize federal powers on Sept 16, 2008.
Unlike Lim, he said that DAP national chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh was the only Pakatan leader to condemn Anwar’s desire to takeover Putrajaya by defections.
“Where was Lim then? Why he was so quiet? The cat got his tongue?” asked Baljit.
“Perhaps he was more keen to know who is going to be the first non-Malay deputy prime minister of the country,” he told a press conference here today.
Also present were Penang Gerakan’s vice-chairman Dr Lim Boon Han, deputy youth chief Tan Kah Leong and bureau heads Dr Thor Teong Gee for publicity, information and communications, and Rowena Yam for political training.
Gerakan was responding to Lim’s statement in vernacular newspapers on Monday, in which he touched on Sabah’s political scenario.
In the last two weeks, Tuaran MP Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing, Beaufort MP Lajim Ukin and Senator Maijol Mahap have defected from BN and declared their support for Pakatan.
They said they had lost confidence in BN for its failure to resolve the illegal immigration problem in Sabah.
Blaming BN
Lim reportedly said that he could not understand on why the BN condemned the defectors as “frogs” when it was BN that encouraged the culture.
Lim has said the defectors could not tolerate the federal and Sabah BN ill-treating locals and ignoring their rights.
Lim has also stressed the need for the country to have an anti-hopping law to stop defections among elected representatives.
“When a rep quits a party, the seat must be elected again,” said Lim.
But he said BN would not enforce such laws because the coalition would need to buy reps.
On this, Baljit asked Lim to reveal “how much was in offer” when Anwar blithely encouraged defections from BN for his 916 coup agenda.
Baljit also asked whether the Sabah defectors can be called as “toads” since Lim hypocritically refused to term them as “frogs.”
He said he was also curious to know where Lim was when the parliamentary select committee for electoral reform came to Penang to receive feedback, recommendations and proposals.
“Gerakan pushed for an anti-hoping law to stop defections by all elected representatives. Why didn’t Lim say anything then? He has been consistent in his inconsistency,” said Baljit.
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