KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 — PAS has today denied the accusation that it chose not to defend Kepala Batas MP Siti Mastura Muhammad after the latter accused DAP leaders of having family ties with Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Communist Party of Malaya's Chin Peng.
Utusan Malaysia quoted PAS Information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari saying there was “not enough time” since Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng only gave two days of ultimatum before he decided to take legal action against Siti Mastura.
“We are not refusing to defend our representative, but since Guan Eng's press conference, the time given was not long. We need to obtain the recording evidence to know the actual issue that occurred.
“What was the rationale for DAP to only give a 48-hour deadline? Imagine how can we try to defend Siti Mastura? So, there's no need to defend unless this matter is not taken to the legal stage,” he told the paper yesterday.
On November 7, Lim said Siti Mastura had two days to provide evidence for her allegation. Two days later after Siti Mastura did not respond, he announced that he appointed Datuk Sankara Narayanan Nair as his lawyer to pursue criminal action and legal proceedings.
In the Utusan report, the Pasir Mas MP also chose not to comment on Siti Mastura's statement and opted instead to refer the matter to the authorities.
“This matter has already reached the legal stage. Therefore, why is everyone so eager to debate whether to defend or not? Many leaders from government political parties are not supporting the government,” he reportedly said.
Last week, Parti Amanah Negara Youth exco Azhar Rahman mockingly lambasted PAS for putting Siti Mastura in a tough spot by remaining silent over her allegations against DAP.
He stated that since Siti Mastura's speech linking Guan Eng to Chin Peng went viral, no other PAS leader defended her to support the allegation.
On Saturday, Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain reportedly said that the police would take Siti Mastura’s statement yesterday after at least four police reports lodged against the Perikatan Nasional MP.
Siti Mastura had told a political rally in Kemaman, Terengganu that the family of DAP national chairman Lim Guan Eng and his father Lim Kit Siang is related to “Lee Kuan Yew”, referring to Lee — who was Singapore’s prime minister from 1959 to 1990.
She also alleged that Guan Eng and Kit Siang are related to Chin Peng, the former secretary-general of the Communist Party of Malaya.
Both Lee and Chin Peng have been repeatedly used as bogeymen by certain groups to create negative perceptions about the DAP even after clarifications have been made.
In the same video clip, Siti Mastura, who is deputy chief of PAS’ women’s wing, purported that Lim’s wife Betty Chew is the “cousin” of Seputeh MP Teresa Kok; Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming; and Bernas MP Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham.
