KUALA LUMPUR – It was political “backstabbing” by DAP that had driven Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye to permanently retire from active politics, despite giving his life to the party.
In his recently released biography, Call Lee Lam Thye: Recalling a Lifetime of Service, Lee recalled the events which saw his exit from DAP just months away from the 1990 general election.
In the book, Lee said he was sidelined by the party when then DAP secretary-general Lim Kit Siang had told him that the party would not be fielding him for the Bukit Bintang parliamentary constituency, a seat which he had won with 30,145 votes in the 1986 general election.
Lee also explained that his brand of moderate politics did not sit well with his DAP peers who were more aggressive and often at odds with the ruling government.
“My non-belligerent approach did not go down well and there was criticism against my stance on various issues.
As time went by, I found it increasingly difficult to work with some of my party colleagues, particularly those I helped, mentored and nurtured but who were now out to discredit and stab me in the back.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back, however, was when, in the run-up to the 1990 general election, I was informed by the party leadership that I would be removed from Bukit Bintang, the constituency I had defended for four terms, and would instead be fielded in a different constituency.
“The decision made no sense to me. I was dumbfounded,” he said.
While Lee had tried to plead his case to Lim and other party leaders, they were adamant about their decision for him to be fielded elsewhere.
“I even offered to help to campaign for the party candidates in other areas so long as I could remain in Bukit Bintang, but despite arguing my case, the DAP leadership stood firm.
“When the party leadership made a decision, they expected me to comply. Despite all my arguments and asking them to reconsider, they said no, I had to go.
“It was agonising because I did not know which place or state I would be fielded in and the general election was just around the corner.
“I sensed something sinister about the decision to move me away from my stronghold,” he said.
Despite pleading his case repeatedly, DAP leaders at the time eventually decided to field former MCA member Wee Choo Keong for the Bukit Bintang seat, which he later won.
In the book, Lee stated that he had done his best to hold the party together, as deputy secretary-general, when most of its leaders were arrested during Ops Lalang in 1987.
“During Ops Lalang in 1987, I held the party together when all the other leaders, including Kit Siang, were detained under the Internal Security Act.
“Kit Siang wanted me to see him in Kamunting (the prison for ISA detainees in Taiping) every month for party instructions.
“When he was released, he acknowledged that I played a major role in holding the party together,” he said.
Left with no viable option forward after falling out with the party leadership, Lee said he felt it was time to quit DAP and politics entirely.
“Despite my frustration, I did not want to be accused of breaking party discipline by challenging the decision and making public statements.
I was well aware that internal politicking was common in all political parties but it still hurt to be sidelined after years of dedicating my life to the people, at the expense of family and personal time, in the name of the party that I loved.
I knew then that the right thing to do was to quit and take a much needed rest.
Lee had made the announcement on September 29, 1990, much to the public and his party’s surprise.
Then DAP chairman Chen Man Hin and Lim had even asked Lee to reconsider his decision but to no avail.
“It was an emotional decision which I made after consulting my family and close friends. I gave my youth to the party. I gave youth to the people and the nation.
“But I could only tolerate backstabbing to a certain point. When it went beyond that stage, I found it difficult to accept and to the extent of impacting my health, I felt I had to make a decision,'” he said.
Lee said he is still grateful to DAP and will never chastise or criticise the party despite being branded as a turncoat, among many other rumours meant to kill his character.
I might not have agreed with some of my colleagues but I stood firm and did not smear the party. I did not run the party down – not then, not now and not ever.
– The Vibes, June 18, 2022
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