BUTTERWORTH – DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng is ready to cooperate with police on claims that he had touched on 3R (race, religion and royalty) elements in a political speech last week.
Lim said that the entire episode was fake, as the English-language news portal which ran a piece on his remarks had wrongly translated his speech, which was predominantly delivered in Mandarin.
Even the original publisher of the news coverage, China Press, a Chinese vernacular newspaper, had issued a separate statement to point out that the translation by the portal was incorrect, Lim said today.
Lim said what had transpired was a “fake incident” designed by the opposition to sully his reputation.
The Bagan MP said he will fight the lies, challenging PAS leaders to go ahead with their threats to lodge police reports.
“I have never uttered the notion that if PAS rules, that Chinese or Buddhist temples would be demolished. I was only referencing a Hindu temple.”
“Everybody knows that the Hindu temple was indeed demolished in Kedah in 2020,” Lim told journalists after visiting a school here.
He added that PAS leaders know they can be investigated under Section 182 of the Penal Code for lodging a fake report. The offender can be punished with imprisonment for up to six months or a fine of up to RM2,000, or both.
Bukit Aman last night said it is investigating Lim for sedition after police reports were lodged against him for remarks made in Mandarin that freedom of religion would be eroded in Penang if “the green wave” swept the state in upcoming state polls.
Lim was reported saying that Chinese and Buddhist temples would be destroyed if the green wave won, a reference to Perikatan Nasional, in which PAS is a component.
However, he later clarified he had been talking about a Hindu temple demolished in Kedah in 2020. – The Vibes, July 10, 2023
