Guan Eng incompetent or has selective memory, court told
He’s lying if he claims he doesn’t know of promises on Kampung Puah Pala, says a witness.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng must be either an incompetent leader or someone who has suffered selective memory loss for not knowing all the pledges made by Pakatan Rakyat leaders to save Kampung Buah Pala, the High Court here was told today.
Testifying before Judicial Commissioner Nordin Hasan in Lim’s suit against a prominent heritage advocate and FMT, New Straits Times news editor Sharanjit Singh expressed surprise that Lim, as secretary-general of DAP, was unaware of the promises.
Sharanjit said he was fully aware of the pledges to save Kampung Buah Pala made by Pakatan Rakyat leaders, including Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP representative RSN Rayer, before and after the 2008 general election, which was acknowledged by Lim’s then political secretary, Ng Wei Aik.
Sharanjit was the NST’s bureau chief in Penang at the height of the Kampung Buah Pala controversy.
“These promises were made by Pakatan leaders and acknowledged by Lim’s own secretary,” he told the court. “If Lim says he did not know about it, it’s a blatant lie. If Lim, as the DAP secretary-general, has no knowledge of these promises, then he must either have a selective memory loss or be an incompetent leader.”
In the suit, Lim alleges that he was defamed by heritage activist Jimmy Lim Cheok Siang, FMT and journalist Athi Shankar in an article titled “Guan Eng has failed, says NGO”, which appeared on FMT on December 6, 2013.
Sharanjit was testifying as a witness for the first defendant.
During the trial’s first hearing last January 19, Lim told the court he had no knowledge of promises made by Anwar, Rayer and others to save Kampung Buah Pala, which was once commonly known as “Tamil High Chaparral”.
He also testified that he was helpless to do anything to save the 200-year-old village, pinning the blame on the previous Barisan Nasional state government.
Sharanjit, 47, told the court Lim could have saved the village with his powers if he wanted to.
Sharanjit submitted to the court a compact disc recording to show that Anwar and others had made pledges on Kampung Buah Pala and that Lim had made a statement condemning the demolition of Pudu Jail and promising not to allow such a thing to happen in Penang.
Anwar reportedly promised Kampung Buah Pala residents that they would be delivered land titles for their village homes within two weeks if the opposition coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS wrested the state government from BN in the 2008 polls.
