DAP leader Lim Kit Siang today expressed doubts over Keadilan's claim that it had picked up more votes from Chinese Malaysians in Saturday's Indera Kayangan by-election.

"It is a mystery how anyone can make such a specific and exact claim when voting is secret," said Lim who is party national chairperson.

Keadilan Youth executive committee member Diong Chi Tzuoh told malaysiakini yesterday that the number of Chinese Malaysians who voted for the party in the by-election increased by about 30 percent, from 152 votes to 620.

But the increase in Chinese votes did not help the party. Barisan Nasional retained the state seat when its candidate, MCA's Oui Ah Lan defeated Keadilan's Khoo Yang Chong by a huge majority of 2,592 votes.

In his statement, Lim however said that should the statistics be correct, they indicated that only 20 percent of Chinese Malaysian voters in Indera Kayangan supported the Damansara school and vision school issues despite hard campaigning by Chinese education veteran Loot Ting Yu.

Expect 'terror election card'

Lim reiterated that opposition parties and interest groups should now reconsider new political dynamics and devise effective strategies to ensure that their respective causes are not drowned out in the post-Sept 11 political scenario.

He said that authoritarian regimes have taken advantage of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks to justify undemocratic and repressive laws worldwide.

According to Lim, Keadilan's defeat in Indera Kayangan showed the effectiveness of BN in using the Sept 11 and Islamic state issues to put fear among voters to distract them from long-standing issues of justice, freedom, democracy and good governance.

"It is most unfortunate that important causes like the Damansara school, vision school, press freedom, human rights, accountability and transparency were completely overshadowed, giving BN an opportunity to claim that these issues have lost the support of the people," he added.

Lim warned that the government will continue to use the "terror election card" during the next general elections expected in 18 months.

Concocted news

On another matter, the veteran politician said he is still considering whether to lodge an official report against the New Straits Times Miri correspondent for "concocting a news report".

Last Saturday, NST Online quoted Lim as saying that DAP would "fight its political struggle alone" and "the question of working with PAS again does not arise anymore".

The article also quoted Lim as saying during a DAP dinner that the party no longer trusted PAS "because, among others, we (DAP) did not get a fair deal on seat allocations, particularly during the last general elections".

Lim stated that the Sin Chew Jit Poh reporter, to whom NST reporter Johannes Ridu attributed the translation of Lim's speech, had confirmed that Ridu was not present at the dinner, and that she (the Sin Chew reporter) did not provide him with the information in the "false and concocted report".

When contacted, the reporter attested to Lim's statement and said Ridu could have confused her with other Chinese daily reporters present at the function.

"I thought it was strange when I read on malaysiakini that a Sin Chew reporter translated the speech," she said.

She stated that Lim did not mention anything about being cheated by PAS with regard to seat allocation or that the DAP will not work with PAS again.

Yesterday, Ridu said he would stand by his story.

Lim also refuted another report titled 'DAP burns bridges with PAS' published by Sarawak Tribune, accusing the daily of being a "mouthpiece" for Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.