KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye’s claim he was dropped from defending the Bukit Bintang seat in 1990 on Lim Kit Siang’s instructions would not have stayed a secret until now, the latter insisted today.
In his latest rebuttal of the former ally turned critic’s revelations in his memoirs titled Lee Lam Thye: Recalling a Lifetime of Service, Lim said it was unlikely that only Lee alone possessed this knowledge in all of Malaysian politics.
Yesterday, Lim already accused Lee of deception in claiming the former was to blame for his sudden retirement from active politics ahead of the 1990 general election.
“Furthermore, if It is true that I had told Lam Thye that he was not to be nominated for Bukit Bintang constituency, it would be impossible to keep the news under wrap for 32 years — inside and outside the DAP!” Lim said in a statement today.
Lim maintained he did not know what caused Lee to give up on DAP and politics, and insisted he had tried to mediate between the latter and the Kuala Lumpur chapter of the party that Lee alleged had waged an “insidious campaign” against him.
Lee alleged in his book that Lim met with him two months ahead of Election 1990 and told the former he would not defend Bukit Bintang and would be fielded elsewhere.
Lee had been a prominent leader in DAP prior to his retirement, and was a four-time federal lawmaker for the party.
While he did not rejoin politics, Lee was accused of selling out to the Barisan Nasional coalition and was the target of various rumours and allegations in this direction.
In his statement today, Lim alluded to this again by suggesting that Lee had inside knowledge of the coalition’s plans for the 1990 general election, based on the timing of his controversial retirement at the time.
“In retrospect, I believe Lam Thye knew that Parliament was to be dissolved in a week’s time and he made himself incommunicado by going overseas.”
