DAP supremo mum on future plans
Pauline PuahPublished: Aug 27, 2004 4:19 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang has kept mum on his future role in the opposition party which he has led for more than three decades after announcing that he would quit from his current post.
DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang has kept mum on his future role in the opposition party which he has led for more than three decades after announcing that he would quit from his current post.
Lim, when contacted by malaysiakini today, steadfastly refused to disclose his future plans.
"I want to leave it just like this at the moment," he said. "I don't want to speculate."
Yesterday, Lim said he would give up his post after the DAP national congress next weekend in a Malacca speech delivered at the party's dinner to welcome back his son, Lim Guan Eng.
Lim, who is also the parliamentary opposition leader, has held the party's secretary-general, and later chairperson post, for 35 years.
A party source, who declined to be named, said that party members are concerned about the image of DAP if Lim and Guan Eng are both holding key positions in the party.
"This is for the long-term benefit of the party. People, especially those outside the party, often criticise him for building a Lim dynasty within the DAP," said the source.
Guang Eng's position
There is a speculation now that Guan Eng would be the next DAP secretary-general - the party's most powerful post - after returning to active politics this week.
He was banned from taking any party post and run for public office for five years after he was convicted of sedition and spreading 'false news' and jailed 18 months in prison.
Lim has been dogged with allegations that he was grooming Guan Eng as leader of the party.
When asked whether his decision was to give way to his son, Lim said: "I would not answer (this question)."
Nevertheless, political observers do not expect Lim to retire from politics soon.
He is expected to be appointed as DAP's advisor, a largely ceremonial role created for party veterans.
Indeed, Lim has not ruled out the possibility of taking other posts in the party.
However, when asked if he would be the party's advisor, Lim said: "I don't have that in mind."
Lim, 62, made a triumphant return to mainstream politics in March by winning the Ipoh Timur parliamentary seat. He was knocked out of the parliament in the 1999 general election after failing to win a seat.
Lim, when contacted by malaysiakini today, steadfastly refused to disclose his future plans.
"I want to leave it just like this at the moment," he said. "I don't want to speculate." Yesterday, Lim said he would give up his post after the DAP national congress next weekend in a Malacca speech delivered at the party's dinner to welcome back his son, Lim Guan Eng.
Lim, who is also the parliamentary opposition leader, has held the party's secretary-general, and later chairperson post, for 35 years.
A party source, who declined to be named, said that party members are concerned about the image of DAP if Lim and Guan Eng are both holding key positions in the party.
"This is for the long-term benefit of the party. People, especially those outside the party, often criticise him for building a Lim dynasty within the DAP," said the source.
Guang Eng's position
There is a speculation now that Guan Eng would be the next DAP secretary-general - the party's most powerful post - after returning to active politics this week.
He was banned from taking any party post and run for public office for five years after he was convicted of sedition and spreading 'false news' and jailed 18 months in prison. Lim has been dogged with allegations that he was grooming Guan Eng as leader of the party.
When asked whether his decision was to give way to his son, Lim said: "I would not answer (this question)."
Nevertheless, political observers do not expect Lim to retire from politics soon.
He is expected to be appointed as DAP's advisor, a largely ceremonial role created for party veterans.
Indeed, Lim has not ruled out the possibility of taking other posts in the party.
However, when asked if he would be the party's advisor, Lim said: "I don't have that in mind."
Lim, 62, made a triumphant return to mainstream politics in March by winning the Ipoh Timur parliamentary seat. He was knocked out of the parliament in the 1999 general election after failing to win a seat.
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