Kit Siang turns down offer to be DAP mentor

PETALING JAYA: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has declined the offer to take on the post of mentor in the party after announcing his retirement from politics last month.

Lim, however, said he would continue to support the party which he founded more than 50 years ago and its new leadership line-up.

He said he could not retire completely from politics as long as he lived, as “politics impinges on every aspect of one’s life” but stressed that he was stepping away from the party leadership.

"Thanks to new central committee (CEC) members and the secretary-general for proposing me as the party mentor.

"As a die-hard DAP worker I will always be available to offer my views and advice on the future of Malaysia and the party's direction, after spending 56 years of my life to advance its cause.

"However, there is no need for any position for me, so I am declining the offer to be party mentor," he said during a dinner with DAP leaders and MPs on Tuesday (April 12).

After 56 years and multiple terms as an MP and assemblyman, Lim announced his retirement from active politics at the party's national congress in March.

He withdrew from the race for a central executive committee position in which he was initially among the 93 hopefuls, and said he would not be standing in any election.

The Iskandar Puteri MP had been in the CEC since 1966 and saw the party grow from a small role in the Opposition that participated in its first general election in 1969, to a Pakatan Harapan member that won the 2018 general election.