GEORGE TOWN: Three DAP leaders have dismissed as false the contents of material purportedly relied on by Kepala Batas MP Siti Mastura Muhammad as proof that Lim Kit Siang and the late Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) leader Chin Peng are cousins.
Kit Siang and son Lim Guan Eng filed suits in the High Court here last year against the PAS MP over remarks she made claiming they had blood ties with Chin Peng and Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
They said Mastura’s remarks, made on Nov 4, implied that they subscribed to communist ideology.
Mastura had, in her defence, claimed her statements were facts as they were sourced from campaign material published by Barisan Nasional’s (BN) communications department in the lead up to the 15th general election.
She also cited the same source for her claims that Kit Siang and DAP chairman Guan Eng were Lee’s cousins, and that Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who is also suing Mastura, is a cousin of Betty Chew, Guan Eng’s wife.
In response to her defence, Kit Siang, Guan Eng and Kok said that the “so-called campaign material has been debunked by BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan and former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil” in a news report dated Nov 11, 2023.
“The alleged ‘facts’ contained in the campaign material were not facts by any stretch of imagination, more so, they were not proven facts or evidence-based.
“As such they are false, worthless and pure hearsay,” they added.
The DAP trio said Mastura, who holds a PhD, should have done her due diligence by checking the facts before making the impugned remarks.
Her alleged research on the matter is wholly preposterous and unbecoming of a politician and more so, a doctorate holder, they added.
“To date, (Mastura) has not disclosed how (she) had come about having possession of the said campaign material which appears to be deliberately concocted/conjured by (her) to escape liability,” they added.
“Until and unless, the remarks are proven to be true, her claim that her remarks were justified, should fail,” they said.
The DAP trio are represented by SN Nair and Yusfarizal Yusoff.
The case is fixed for case management on Feb 9.
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