Chua: Gutter politics the norm now
The Star/Asia News Network
KUALA LUMPUR: Politicians from both sides of the divide have been guilty of practising gutter politics since the 2008 general election, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
“Nobody can claim the moral high ground. They (Pakatan Rakyat) only stand on moral high ground when they are affected,” he told reporters after attending the 3rd World Chinese Economic Forum signing ceremony here yesterday.
He said since the 2008 general election, there had been a lot of arguments not on policies but personal attacks, adding that many issues were politicised.
He denied that “gutter politics” were tactics only used by Umno and MCA politicians, adding: “This is something that politicians from both sides do.”
Dr Chua was commenting on Pakatan's statement that leaders from Barisan Nasional were practising “gutter politics” when they made allegations against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's son.
Pakatan leaders had expressed outrage and condemned the allegations circulating on the Internet that the boy was transferred out of his school following an offence, which Lim called “barbaric lies”.
On another matter, Dr Chua said as a party leader, he could make his own decision on whether to contest in the general election and where to stand as a candidate.
“I can make my decision and I do not need DAP to teach me or challenge me.
“When the time is right, I will make a decision,” he said when asked to comment on DAP challenging him to contest in a DAP stronghold.
HM surprised by allegations involving Guan Eng’s son
GEORGE TOWN: A school principal has expressed surprise over online allegations involving Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's 16-year-old son and a girl in the same school.
SMJK Heng Ee principal Goh Boon Poh (pic) said he needed to make a clarification over the issue to preserve his school's reputation after the allegations, which included photographs, went viral on the Internet.
Goh said Lim's son had transferred out of the school on Jan 3.
“It was the boy's choice. There was no pressure nor were there disciplinary issues here. He was a prefect who performed well in his PMR examinations at our school. He just wanted to be in another school,” he said.
The boy had enrolled in the school in 2009 when he was in Form One, Goh said.
The principal also noted there had been no allegation involving the boy at the school.
“I am surprised by the allegations made. I am not taking sides but I need to protect my school and the students,” he said.
Goh also stressed that the photographs of two people appearing on blog sites were not students of the school.
Lim had refuted the allegations, issuing a strongly-worded statement on the issue, describing it as a form of “gutter politics”.
‘Mystery girl’ is chess grandmaster behind the allegations
KUALA LUMPUR: The “mystery girl” behind allegations involving the son of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been identified as a renowned 21-year-old chess grandmaster from Britain, said Tony Pua.Her name in Anya Croke, who is of Scottish-Chinese parentage.
The DAP national publicity secretary said this proved that the allegations by certain bloggers were “blatant lies”.
“If such gutter politics continue, it will only tarnish the country’s image,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.
The young woman’s identity was discovered by DAP IT manager Goh Kheng Teong, Pua said, adding that Croke was not only a foreigner but a renowned chess grandmaster who won championship titles between 2004 and 2008.
She was born in the United States and raised in Hong Kong. She is currently pursuing her studies in Wellesley College, a top liberal arts college in the US.
“They (bloggers) are willing to destroy the life of an innocent 16-year-old boy, bring the country into disrepute and defame a top achiever for political ends,” Pua said.
The allegations against Lim’s son appeared in the blogs of Papagomo and mediapermatangpauh, depicting a photograph of the boy next to a cropped photo of an unidentified girl.
It was also alleged that the matter was settled with RM200,000.
Lim had refuted all allegations made against his son, adding that he and his wife were now helping the boy to “heal” following the episode.
Pua also called on Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to apologise to Lim for his recent tweet over the issue.
“As a role model for the nation’s youth, he (Khairy) must set an example and take responsibility by apologising for his tweet which is perpetuating the vicious lie,” he said.
DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who was present at the press conference, expressed concern at the level of gutter politics, describing the bloggers’ lies as diabolical and heinous.
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