PETALING JAYA, Aug 19 — Claiming defamation, the DAP's Lim Kit Siang has initiated legal action against Umno-owned broadsheet Utusan Malaysia for publishing what he said were “lies” to create a scandal against his party.

The DAP advisor claimed that the Malay paper had in its Sunday edition, Mingguan Malaysia, on August 18 carried a report “recycling” what he described as “defamatory and malicious lies and falsehoods” published in the booklet, The Equity Report (CEC Election Fraud) authored by one mysterious “Father Augustus Chen”.

“There is not an iota of truth in these malicious and defamatory allegations against the DAP and DAP leaders.

“I have therefore asked my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Utusan Malaysia for recycling the defamatory lies of the booklet ‘The Equity Report (CEC Election Fraud)’ and of the fictitious ‘Father Augustus Chen’,” he said in a statement today.

The 16-page booklet surfaced in Penang sometime last month, claiming irregularities and vote manipulation allegedly to place cronies of both Kit Siang and his son DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng on the powerful CEC, among other allegations.

Allegations of irregularities in the CEC results had cast a shadow over the party ever since the RoS began a probe into the issue following complaints by party members.

But Kit Siang argued that claims, such as some 735 mostly Indian delegates claiming they were not notified of the DAP Congress date in Penang last December, were false.

He also swatted aside the claim that there were 547 “phantom delegates” mostly from Penang who voted at its party election.

DAP detractors grew more vocal when they learnt that Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari - who was at the time political secretary to Guan Eng - managed to squeeze into the 20 elected CEC positions after a recount with 803 votes, after initially just finishing in 39th position with 305 votes.

The party leadership admitted to the incident, but blamed it on a technical glitch in the Excel spreadsheet used to tabulate the results.

Under pressure from the Registrar or Societies, the DAP finally agreed last week to hold fresh polls for its CEC after months of resisting.