DAP rumour mongers at it again with new pack of lies

Former Pol-Sec Foo Fook Ming

KOTA KINABALU - A pensioner said it was ironic that MCA former Luyang State Assemblyman Hiew King Cheu had received an apology from a man falsely claiming the party was handing out money to voters.

Former Political Secretary Foo Fook Ming said many lies and falsehoods were spread among Luyang voters when Hiew contested there as a DAP candidate in the 2013 polls.

“I can still recall how shocked I was when I heard some in Luyang saying they were told that the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) received RM80mil from UMNO,” said Foo, himself a Luyang voter.

He said another outright lie that was spread among Luyang voters then was that the SAPP candidate for the constituency then, Melanie Chia, had received RM5mil from UMNO as well. Foo said the use of lies and falsehoods appeared to be DAP tactic in the 2013 election.

He noted that Hiew’s former DAP counterpart Junz Wong who contested in Likas had claimed during the election that SAPP had worked out a RM50mil deal with Najib during the polls.

Junz was compelled to retract his lie and apologise publicly in newspapers advertisements in 2015 after being sued by SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee for defamation by the party.

Foo said Hiew should likewise apologise for the numerous falsehoods that were spread against SAPP in the 2013 elections.

“Luyang voters like to know who were those spreading the lies in the last polls and these people cannot get away with these dirty tactics again,” he said.

Foo said the DAP rumour mongering machinery had resumed with another round of whispering campaign.

“Two friends alerted me on Monday about lies being spread that SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee had a private lunch with Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur last week,” he said. The whole truth is that Yong was suing the Prime Minister in the Kota Kinabalu High Court.

“The sinister message is that Yong is being bribed by Najib to split opposition votes,” Foo said.

“I am told by lawyers and computer experts that SMS, WhatsApp messages and other forms of communications can be traced,” he said in adding that the Fake News Act recently passed in Parliament provided for fine of up to RM500,000 or up to 10 years jail for those convicted.

“Yong does not want to suffer again like in 2013 when he was the victim of an outright lie that he had received RM80mil from Umno. It was a cruel and ridiculous lie,” Foo said.

He said SAPP and Yong have been fighting Barisan Nasional and Umno for 10 years. SAPP leaders and members made many sacrifices over the past decade.

And recently in defending the sanctity of the Sabah Constitution and dignity of the Sabah people, Yong and six other Sabahans had sued Najib, Foo noted.

Yong had also declared that he would take the fight to Parliament now that the court had dismissed the case on the grounds of locus standi.