‘Zahid meant it as a joke’

PETALING JAYA: Rumours and attempts at character assassination in the run-up to the 15th General Election (GE15) are only to be expected, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic).

However, he said any reasonable person who listened to Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi speech at the MIC general assembly on Oct 10 could clearly see the naming of Barisan component party leaders who were supposedly “in line for prosecution” was meant as a joke.

“Any reasonably sane viewer of Dr Ahmad Zahid’s speech can clearly see that his naming of the Barisan leaders, including myself, was done in jest, and more importantly, as an emphasis of the selective or political persecution that awaits Barisan should it face defeat in GE15,” said Dr Wee in a Facebook post yesterday.

“It does not mean that any leader mentioned in his speech is involved in graft of any kind.

“If there is any shred of corruption within our ranks, the entire MCA leadership welcomes the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to conduct its investigations to the full extent of the law.

“But do not use such baseless accusations for election campaigning without any evidence,” said Dr Wee, adding that Ahmad Zahid’s speech had been spun for political mileage.

Dr Wee also gave the assurance that MCA leaders could withstand the test of integrity, and that the party welcomes any investigation by MACC.

“Many quarters, particularly the Opposition, have inferred that leaders of Barisan component parties should be pre-emptively investigated for graft in reaction to Ahmad Zahid’s opening speech at the MIC general assembly.

“However, in September 2018, just before the ink dried up on GE14 voting slips, the Penang High Court freed Lim Guan Eng and his associate Phang Li Koon from their corruption charges,” he said.

Dr Wee also said that no MCA leader had been charged for corrupt practices, even following Barisan’s defeat in GE14.

During Ahmad Zahid’s speech at the MIC general assembly, he said that other Barisan leaders could be selectively prosecuted, just like him and others, if they failed to win GE15.