Statement of Solidarity for DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng.

SocDem Asia condemns the recent arrest of Democratic Action Party – Malaysia Secretary General and Penang State Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. The timing of the arrest is highly suspicious and shows the intent of the government to silence dissent and undermine the political opposition.

While the arrest is seemingly in pursuit of fighting corruption, for alleged abuse of power and conflict of interest, this façade of an anti-corruption case falls flat on its face considering that the government has yet to act on damning allegations and evidence of corruption tied to current Prime Minister Najib Razak. We fear that this arrest is another episode in a series of strategic moves by the ruling party and government to cripple the political opposition. We have already witnessed the arrest and conviction of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who already served a previous conviction on highly suspicious grounds, and many other political activists.

We stand in solidarity with our comrades in the DAP, the political opposition and the people of Malaysia in these trying times. We urge the Malaysian people to continue to be vigilant and to persist in its struggle for meaningful democracy and human rights.