Kit Siang: I have no intention to become Cabinet minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang has rubbished claims that he is lobbying to gain a position in the government’s Cabinet.

The Iskandar Puteri MP in a statement said he was tickled and found the latest social media offensive against him amusing, after previous claims of him vying for the top post as prime minister.

“What a great letdown; from the pinnacle of the post of Prime Minister to a place in the Cabinet.

“But I am not offended in the least, but was quite amused and tickled, as both these politically-motivated speculations are just simply untrue,” read his statement.

Lim was referring to messages spread on social media before last year’s elections and most recently during the Cameron Highlands by-election, where he was said to be gunning for a Cabinet minister’s position.

He then reiterated Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) pledge for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to helm as prime minister, with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as his eventual successor.

“I had said that I have no intention of being a Cabinet minister, as there are more than sufficient young and idealistic DAP leaders to take up positions of responsibility in the PH government, and my intention to stay out of the Cabinet remains unchanged,” he added.

Lim also advised Malaysians to take messages spread on social media with a pinch of salt.

“Unless Malaysians, especially voters, develop a healthy attitude to check on the veracity of the messages they receive in the social media, the liars and the cheats are going to have a field day,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lim also touched on the recent out-of-court settlement between PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and whistleblower site Sarawak Report’s editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown over an article the latter published in April 2017.

The article claimed Hadi had received some RM90 million to lock in PAS’ support for Barisan Nasional and Umno, with the party president then filling a defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown.

“Does this mean that the PAS president had now publicly conceded that Sarawak Report was right in its allegation that PAS had received RM90 million to ensure the party’s support for BN and Umno?” Lim questioned.