Guan Eng does a U-turn and now admits links with IRI

I did not hear the journalist’s question clearly on IRI and was under the impression that the Republican party and IRI is one and the same

Lim Guan Eng

I wish to clarify my comments that DAP has no contacts with the United States Republican Party, US President Donald Trump, or the International Republican Institute (IRI).

DAP has no contacts with the United State Republican party or to the US President Donald Trump as correctly reported. However, I did not hear the journalist’s question  clearly on IRI and was under the impression that the Republican party and IRI is one and the same. Whilst I have not attended training courses with IRI, I have been informed that IRI have conducted some training courses for DAP members on technical issues under the auspices of understanding democratic processes related to polling and communications. IRI has also stated publicly that such courses have been conducted for both BN and Pakatan component parties.

Contacts with a think-tank is different from having direct contacts with the CIA or political parties such as the Communist Party of China. Unlike some extremists, there is nothing wrong for UMNO to have contacts with the Communist Party of China to the extent that UMNO leaders are invited for China Communist Party of China’s top party meetings. Open communication should always be encouraged to promote understanding based on clear principles. However having direct contacts with the CIA explicitly seeking aid for foreign intervention to sabotage the people’s mandate in the recent general elections, is not only untenable and unacceptable, but a betrayal of our country’s sovereignty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL_i02LpvD8