[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 25 Aug 1999
Time: 05:29:26
Remote User: -
Freed Malaysian politician ready to go back to jail
KAJANG, Malaysia, Aug 25 (AFP) - Malaysian opposition leader Lim Guan Eng was given a rousing welcome by cheering supporters on his release from jail on Wednesday, and immediately vowed to keep fighting the government.
Lim, the deputy secretary general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP)
who was freed after serving two thirds of an 18 month term for sedition and publishing false news, said he was ready to face prison again.
"A year ago I was jailed for instigating the Malay people to go against the government," the 38-year-old former lawmaker told more than 1,000 supporters who gathered with a Chinese lion dance troupe outside the prison gates.
Shouting slogans against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, they included members of the DAP, the Islamic opposition party and a new party headed by the wife of jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
Lim, the son of DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, was also jailed as a national security threat in 1987 along with more than 100 other suspects.
"They condemned me as a Chinese chauvinist but I was just championing the rights of the people," he said. "I'm neither a Malay nor Chinese chauvinist but a true Malaysian who is fighting for a just society.
"I will continue this struggle and I am prepared to go to jail again. I will not be intimidated," Lim added. "Although I have been jailed for a year, my dreams are still alive."
Wearing a garland of red and yellow flowers, Lim addressed the crowd from the roof of a car, saying he was "truly pleased to breathe this fresh air" upon his release.
"But I feel I will not be really free unless all Malaysians who are unfairly in prison and detained by the National Front government are freed," he said.
He added that he was especially refering to Anwar, who was fired and arrested last year before being sentenced to six years in jail in April for abuse of power. Anwar faces an additional sentence of up to 20 years if convicted of sodomy in a second trial which began in June.
Lim later told a news conference at party headquarters that he was released about an hour earlier than expected.
"The aim was to prevent me from meeting supporters and friends. They practically threw me out of the prison," he said.
"They left me at a hotel in Kajang. I didn't have any money with me and I had to borrow a phone from a member of the public to call my family."
Lim was sentenced to 18 months jail in April last year for publishing false news about an alleged sex scandal involving a 15-year-old girl and Rahim Thamby Chik, who was then chief minister of the state of Malacca.
He was also ordered to serve a concurrent 18-month sentence for sedition after speaking out about the government's handling of allegations that Rahim had raped a minor. Rahim, a member of Mahathir's ruling United Malay's National Organisation (UMNO), was later acquitted of the charge.
Lim began serving his sentence in August last year after losing several appeals. He was released after serving a year under a system whereby prisoners have their sentences reduced by a third for good behaviour.
As a result of his conviction, Lim lost his seat in parliament which he had held since 1986 and cannot stand in elections for five years from Wednesday.
"Mahathir has terminated my political career," Lim told the news conference. adding that he would nevertheless campaign for the party in the coming general election to be held any time between now and June next year.
Lim said he was unsure of his long-term plans but said he wanted to spend some time with his family following his release.