KUCHING: Iskandar Puteri Member of Parliament, Lim Kit Siang, has shown his true face about controlling information for the masses, said Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
“Lim’s stunning change of tune is simply unbelievable. This is a complete reversal for this so-called veteran politician,” he said in a press statement issued recently in response to Lim’s claim that “fake news” would harm the people if not controlled.
Tiong described Lim’s statement as “totally at odds with his pledges of ensuring that freedom of the press would be a key policy priority and that one of the first acts of the 14th Parliament must be the repeal of the Anti-Fake News Act”.
He recalled that when the previous government of Barisan National proposed that there should be limits to freedom of the press, Lim was one of the figures who vehemently opposed the idea, calling it an attempt
by the government to clamp down on the media and suppress freedom of speech.
“It is a 180-degree turn for him now to say that the media and freedom of speech should be moderated, completely throwing his previous comments down the toilet,” he said.
“His comments are confusing to the masses. Did he feel that fake news would not endanger social harmony under the previous administration? Is the current government Pakatan Harapan (PH) so fragile that it cannot
withstand fake news?
“His logic is a stretch of the imagination and requires more clarity for the sake of the people and media practitioners.”
Tiong who is also the Bintulu MP added that all Lim had to do when we were in the opposition was to speculate and incite hatred against the government to gain political capital but since Lim is now in the government, he finds freedom of the press inconvenient for the PH government because it exposes their shortcomings and failures.
“Now he realises that fake news is indeed harmful to social harmony and may even lead to unnecessary public
security issues and compromise the stable development of the country and economy,” he said.
“Lim and his Democratic Action Party (DAP) need to reflect on the past. Why is there constant religious and ethnic strife now? Social harmony and national unity is no longer as strong as in the past.
“DAP and the father-son team of the Lim family (Lim Kit Siang and his son, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng) must take some responsibility. Quit blaming others for this decline in social harmony and looking for
scapegoats.”
He told Lim, “Your words are published by the press and recorded in the Hansard for all to see.”
