Aliran Media Statement
Please grant Lim Guan Eng a royal pardon Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. We also welcome donations.
This is the second time that Guan Eng is seeking a Royal Pardon. When he sought this pardon in 1999, it was supported by 300,000 signatures from all over the country that included citizens from every ethnic group. There is an overwhelming evidence that there is wide spread support for clemency. It is so obvious that Guan Eng enjoys the sympathies of millions of Malaysians. Guan Eng is someone who has established himself as a caring and selfless person. He was a model Member of Parliament who had worked tirelessly for the common good of the society. To this day loyal Malaysians remember how he crossed the ethnic barrier to take up the cudgel on behalf of someone from another community. It was this episode that had cost him his career and consequently he had to pay a heavy price. A vast majority of Malaysians support this appeal. In the eyes of justice-loving citizens, Guan Eng had paid adequately for his "crime". He had served his sentence; he has sacrificed his profession; he was disqualified from contesting in the 1999 general election. He has lost almost everything including his MP's pension and gratuity and career. That should be punishment enough to satisfy the authorities. But it would appear that he is being punished more than once. He was sentenced to serve an 18-month imprisonment on 25 August 1998, which he completed on 25 August 1999. But he continues to be punished. After serving his sentence, he could not earn a living as a qualified accountant; he was barred from standing for election in 1999; he will again be barred from taking part in the upcoming election if no pardon is forthcoming. In the eyes of many, it is indeed a very severe and vindictive punishment. There are only six months of barrier left before he could legitimately qualify to stand for election. According to many Malaysians, Guan Eng's appeal for pardon is justified and deserving. Guan Eng's case must be weighed against those who have been pardoned previously to realize how deserving and justified his appeal is. A chief executive of a state who was convicted for corruption was pardoned. He was Datuk Harun Idris, the Mentri Besar of Selangor. Again there was the case of a Cabinet Minister who was convicted for murder and sentenced to death but was also pardoned subsequently. He was Mokhtar Hashim the then Youth, Culture and Sports Minister. Recently there was the case of "Jackie Chan" of Penang. It was reported that he was a notorious member of a triad linked to serious crimes and who was detained under the ISA. He has also received a Royal Pardon. Compared with the crimes of these personages Guan Eng's "crime" cannot be considered as something more serious or heinous than theirs. A Royal Pardon for Guan Eng would only confirm that everyone is considered impartially and treated fairly.
P Ramakrishnan This statement was sent to the local media including The Star and the Sun. We have stopped sending statements to the New Straits Times as they have never been carried.
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