TAN Sri Lim Kit Siang marked his auspicious 85th birthday celebration last night with a private dinner among DAP comrades, corporate supporters and friends.
The man regarded as Lao Da (Big Brother) in DAP was seen gleaming in photographs at the Millen Hotel in George Town, a refurbished property along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Lim's two children, the eldest Lim Guan Eng, the former Penang chief minister and the youngest Lim Hui Ying, the Women and Family Development Deputy Minister, led the chorus of well-wishers for the celebration.
The statesman Lim's birthday coincided with an earlier sweeping statement by DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook that the party will hold a special referendum on whether it should stay with the Madani national unity federal government, come this July, or quit.
The referendum will see some 4,000 delegates voting to determine if the party will stay or exit the central government, and even in certain positions in the states or local governments.
Loke stressed that the party will remain faithful to the Pakatan Harapan coalition of which DAP is a key member, together with PKR, the party led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Parti Amanah Nasional.
Besides Loke, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow was also not present at the birthday celebration, as well as state DAP chairman Steven Sim Chee Keong, who earlier had posted on social media that he was hospitalised.
Some state executive councillors were also not seen among the guests. - February 21, 2026.
