________________
Media Statement
by Lau Weng San  
___________________

(Petaling Jaya, Friday) : Deputy Prime Minister Najib bin Razak yesterday said that the Opposition is inconsistent in their stands when they decided to contest in the Machap by-election but they boycotted the Batu Talam by-election in January 2007.

He said that the Oppositions had campaigned underground although they boycotted the Batu Talam by-election and now that they reverse their earlier stand to contest in the Machap by-election and that this shows the Oppositions’ inconsistency.

DAP would like to clarify that it is not the decision of DAP to boycott any by-election or General Election. DAP did not contest in the Batu Talam by-election simply because the state seat is not our traditional seat and we did not even contest during the 2004 General Election. To say that DAP’s stand is inconsistent is something extremely malicious.

Furthermore, the DAP has clarified that if a by-election were to be held in a seat that the DAP had previously contested, then naturally the DAP will not boycott but to contest in the by-election. This is also why we contested in the Machap by-election this time.

As for Batu Talam, the seat was previously contested by UMNO and PAS, therefore the DAP did not contest in the by-election. Najib and other BN leaders shall not issue such malicious statement prior to the Machap by-election.

If there are people who do not know how to differentiate between “not contest” and “boycott”, or if there are people who choose to mix up between DAP and KeADILan, then that is just too bad.

(23/3/2007)