Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 8.3.2022:
Give The Star And Tan Teik Cheng 24 Hours To Withdraw And Apologise For Their Lies Against Me On SJKC Kuek Ho Yao.
During the debate challenge by MCA President Wee Ka Siong against DAP leaders over Chinese education and SJKC Kuek Ho Yao, the Star had refused to publish that Wee was the first to challenge DAP Kulai MP and former Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Chieng to a debate.
The debate challenge was first issued by Wee against Teo during his speech at the MCA’s anniversary dinner in Yong Peng on February 25. Teo promptly accepted the challenge to debate on 6 March but Wee then shifted the goal post by turning his attention to asking to debate with me instead of Teo.
This is most dishonest and irresponsible of Wee. Even if Wee wants to debate with me, he should first debate with Teo since he had thrown down the challenge to debate with Teo. Fortunately for Wee, the police saved Wee from embarrassing himself to the public by intervening to stop his debate with Teo from happening.
The police’s intervention raises many questions of fairplay when the police did not intervene but allowed a face-to-face debate between BN Youth Chairman Asyraf Wajdi bin Dusuki and PH Youth Chairman Howard Lee on the same day. Why then intervene in the debate between Wee and Teo?
MCA leaders had then gone on a publicity drive with baseless allegations against me to try to salvage the image of Wee. In an article on 7 March in The Star, MCA Vice-President Tan Teik Cheng said “During the Johor state election, he(Guan Eng) dared to claim that he had allocated RM4mil to SJKC Kuek Ho Yao. However, he still did not dare deny that the condition for allocating that sum was to change the name of the school.”
This is false and untrue. I will give the Star and Tan Teik Cheng 24 hours to withdraw and apologise for their lies that the condition set by me as Finance Minister to allocate RM4 million to SJKC Kuek Ho Yao was to change the name of the school. The Star should not be a purveyor of fake news for its owner MCA.
LIM GUAN ENG
民主行动党秘书长兼峇眼区国会议员林冠英于2022年3月8日在吉隆坡发表文告:
限《星报》和陈德钦在24小时内，撤回他们在郭鹤尧华小课题上针对我的谎言，并向我道歉。
在马华总会长魏家祥挑战民主行动党领袖辩论华脚和郭鹤尧华小课题之时，《星报》却拒绝刊登是魏家祥率先挑战行动党古来国会议员兼前教育部副部长张念群辩论的事实。
魏家祥是在2月25日于永平举办的马华党庆上致词时，率先挑战张念群辩论华小课题。张念迅速迎战，同意出席3月6日的辩论会，但魏家祥却在此时搬龙门，改为要跟我辩论。
魏家祥此举极之不诚实和不负责任。即便魏家祥想跟我辩论，他也应该先和张念群辩论，而不是放弃由他自身他率先发起的挑战。对魏家祥而言，幸运的是警方干预及阻止了他与张念群的辩论会，从而避免魏家祥在公众前出丑。
警方的介入引发了有关公平竞争的疑问，因为警方并没有干预国阵青年团团长阿斯拉夫和希盟青年团团长李存孝在同一天举办的辩论会。那为何警方却介入魏家祥和张念群之间的辩论呢？
马华领袖随即展开宣传攻势，对我做出毫无根据的指控，试图挽救魏家祥的形象。《星报》于3月7日刊登马华副总会长陈德钦的文章，文中指出：“在柔州选期间，他（林冠英）还敢声称他拨出400万令吉给郭鹤尧华小，但他至今不敢否认，发出这笔钱的条件是要这所华小改名。”
这是虚假和不实的指控。我在此限《星报》和陈德钦在24小时内，撤回他们的谎言，即我在担任财政部长时以改校名为条件才肯拨款400万令吉给郭鹤尧华小，并就他们的谎言向我道歉。《星报》不应为了其拥有者马华，而成为假新闻传播者。
林冠英