DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang criticised former party leader Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye and accused the latter of deceit over his claims that he was backstabbed by party leadership, forcing him to leave the party in 1990.
“Lee told a big lie in his autobiography on why he quit DAP on the eve of the 1990 General Election. He accused me as the DAP secretary-general back then and other leaders of backstabbing him, which led to his retirement on Sept 29, 1990,” he said, in a statement.
In his recently published memoir entitled “Call Lee Lam Thye: Recalling a Lifetime of Service“, Lee was accused of backstabbing by several DAP leaders, which led him to retire from political 32 years ago.
The four-term Bukit Bintang MP claimed that his style of politics often pitted him against powerful forces within the party.
“Being an Opposition member, I perceived my role as a constructive opposition offering constructive criticism and alternative suggestions for the consideration of the Government.
“I did not object for the sake of objecting. I had even supported Government legislation as long as they were in the public and national interests.
“My non-belligerent approach did not go down well and there were criticisms about my stance on issues,” he said, based on an excerpt of the book published by New Straits Times.
The problem became too much for him that Lee alleged that he was being pushed to another seat, without him even knowing which seat it would be, leaving with no choice but to retire.
Pleaded with him to stay
Touching on the matter, Lim claimed that he never told Lee that he would be removed from Bukit Bintang.
Based on records, the Iskandar Puteri MP said that he had warned DAP leaders back then that there was a massive attempt to create divisions among the party due differing political styles.
“But I have always regarded our differing styles as mutually complementary and DAP is what it is today due to that unique attribute,” he stated.
As for Lee, Lim said the former had reiterated that he would neither not quit his post as Federal Territories DAP chairman nor retire from politics during a meeting on Sept 19 that year.
“The next days were agonising for both of us as I had four meetings to persuade him to continue as a DAP leader.
“And when I thought everything was clear, Lee announced his retirement a week before the general election was called,” Lim mentioned. – June 18, 2022
