‘Father and son giving excuses for not attending tunnel talk’

GEORGE TOWN: The absence of father and son – Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Lim Kit Siang – from the talk on the Penang undersea tunnel held in Bagan is disappointing with lame excuses being dished out, says MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

He said the invitation to Guan Eng to attend the talk was sent out weeks ago.

“Kit Siang was also invited after he had understandably jumped in to defend his son. Parental love is limitless so I do not blame Kit Siang.

“However, before the forum, we were treated to a deluge of excuses from both father and son on why they will be avoiding this debate.

“Friday night’s forum has now come and gone and both were disappointingly absent,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Wee said after the forum, the “lame excuses” why both did not attend have continued.

“Now we are told by the father and son that I should contest in Guan Eng’s Bagan seat first before they will debate me, that I am childish for daring to publicly debate them or that I am defaming the Penang State Secretary.

“The funniest excuse came from Kit Siang who implied that there was no need for the debate since Liew Chin Tong is brave enough to contest against me in Ayer Hitam,” he said.

Dr Wee added that Guan Eng and Kit Siang must be reeling in shame after what must be the biggest blow to DAP’s pride since its formation – that the party secretary-general and the party de facto leader had ducked out from a public debate where Guan Eng has been accused of a RM20.5bil scandal in his Bagan parliamentary seat in the state where he is Chief Minister.

It was reported that Dr Wee, who is also a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, spent over an hour presenting to a large crowd his findings on the tunnel project on Friday night.

The political talk held at the Tan Si Eng Chuan Tong Association hall in Jalan Kampung Paya, Butterworth, titled “Political Talks on Penang’s Truth” was part of a series of talks organised by Penang MCA to highlight problematic issues in the state.

Two seats were reserved for Guan Eng and Kit Siang but they did not show up.