KUALA LUMPUR: DAP head honcho Lim Kit Siang has found himself in a tight spot with the increasing number of Umno members leaving the party to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).
Lim who has repeatedly condemned leapfrogging as well as Umno members’ silence over the 1 Malaysia Development Bhd scandal has made an about-turn to say that it’s alright for those exiting the party to join Pakatan Harapan (PH).
However, he said the leaders should be prepared to face the music if they had committed crimes.
“We are not saints. We all make mistakes,” he said after the launch of Malay Mail’s 100-day pictorial on Malaysia Baru.
“If in the past they failed to take strong action and aided and abetted (former prime minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) in the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) scandal in particular, they must openly state so.
“But, those who have done more than that...committed corruption and criminal action, they have to pay for it.”
Lim was responding to questions on whether joining PH absolved corrupt leaders of their sins.
Asked about the possibility of PPBM accepting the likes of diehard Najib supporters such as former communications and multimedia minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak and former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, Lim said: “Let them perform first.”
Asked whether DAP would accept them as members, he said the party would do so if they were sincere and wanted to move forward towards a better Malaysia.
However, he said, there were no applications from former Umno members to join the party.
Lim’s statement contradicts his criticism on defections on his blog earlier today.
He had, among other things, highlighted a private member’s Bill he had moved in 1978 to require that MPs vacate their seats within 30 days if they resigned or were expelled from the party on whose ticket they were originally elected.
He said that nothing disgusted the public more than elected reps party hopping.
He said there should be an anti-hopping law in Malaysia, but before such a law was passed both sides of the political divide should ensure that there were no defections.
Yesterday, Selangor DAP secretary- general Ronnie Liu told PPBM to stop behaving like a rubbish collector in accepting Umno leaders, while its Bukit Gelugor member of parliament Ramkarpal Singh said the move would affect people’s trust in Pakatan Harapan.
Asked about Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz’s attempts to broker a truce with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to prevent the party’s de-registration, Lim said: “I don’t want to go into these speculations. I’m sure in coming months we will have more stories about conspiracies and so-called conflicts and differences.
“So, I don’t think we should be going around making comments.”