Media Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Monday, 10^th August 2009: 

Why has Najib condoned the Umno-inspired hysteria and gunning for Loke Siew Fook for insulting the Perak royalty and Islam when these allegations are completely groundless?

What has the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak joined in the Umno-inspired hysteria and gunning for DAPSY chief and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook for insulting the Perak royalty and Islam when these allegations are completely groundless?

This morning, Najib directed the relevant authorities to investigate Loke.

In directing the relevant authorities to investigate Loke without any background or preliminary check as to whether the DAPSY chief had make such grave allegations on his blog, and talking about offences under the Sedition Act, Najib is acting most irresponsibly as Prime Minister as he was in fact helping to fan the Umno-inspired hysteria that there is a systematic attack on Islam and the royalty.

Loke has today lodged a police report at Dang Wangi Police Station, Kuala Lumpur, denying unfounded allegations and lies spread by certain blogs and SMS that he had made scurrilous and seditious statements in his blog insulting Islam and the Perak royalty.

This is clearly part of the latest gameplan of a master strategy by Umno to tarnish the image of DAP and DAP leaders as anti-Malay and anti-Islam in a larger political conspiracy to break up and destroy Pakatan Rakyat.

Now that Loke has openly denied the wild allegations, will Najib issue a public retraction of his directive to the relevant authorities to investigate Loke and censure the Umno leaders who had irresponsibly tried to gain political mileage from the lies, including Umno Ministers and Deputy Ministers like the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Deputy Minister for International Trade and industry Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir?

These Umno Ministers and leaders must be very desperate of publicity that they have to jump on lies and falsehoods to get into the news in the Barisan Nasional-controlled mass media.

Are Ahmad Zahid, Mukhriz and Zambry going to be gentlemen enough to publicly apologise to Loke for making baseless imputations and allegations against him, even to the extent of demanding that Loke be detained under the Internal Security Act and be charged under the Sedition Act?

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor