Lim said they must not fall prey to misleading information and blame DAP for plotting the toppling of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister of the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.- Malay Mail photo
KUCHING (May 28): Malaysians must not allow social media abuses including lies, falsehoods and fake news to rewrite history as in denying the existence of Sheraton Move in February 2020, said Lim Kit Siang.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) veteran leader said they must not fall prey to misleading information and blame DAP for plotting the toppling of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister of the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
“An attempt was made by Bersatu (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia) deputy president to use lies, falsehoods and fake news to rewrite such history which, writer Kee Thuan Chye has described in his Facebook as ‘the most ridiculous and dishonest thing’ he ever heard.
“The Sheraton Move political conspiracy was based on lies, falsehoods and fake news, which included the wild and preposterous allegations that the prime minister, was a ‘stooge’ of DAP and that Dr Mahathir government was ‘DAP-dominated’.
“Dr Mahathir is on public record as stating that ‘All the talk about the DAP having me under their thumb or the DAP plotting to take over the country was utter nonsense’ and he said that he never felt any pressure from the DAP when he was prime minister,” he said in a statement today.
Lim recollected having attended the PH Presidential Council meeting on the night of Feb 21 in 2020.
According to him, Dr Mahathir was told by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and other Bersatu leaders before the meeting that he would be asked to step down in May 2020, and appoint Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister, failing which Dr Mahathir would be obliged to state the date of his relinquishment of the post of prime minister to Anwar.
“None of this happened at the PH Presidential Council meeting,” said Lim.
He said there was no pressure on Dr Mahathir to step down at any time, and the latter had full discretion to decide when he would retire, although he indicated at the meeting that he would step down after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting at the end of the year.
“I left the meeting thinking that Malaysia had survived a critical political test and was shocked when the Sheraton Move political conspiracy happened the following Sunday and Dr Mahathir was toppled thereafter as PH prime minister.
“The Sheraton Move political conspiracy, built on lies, falsehoods and fake news that Dr Mahathir was a DAP stooge and his government DAP-dominated, spawned two illegitimate and unconstitutional governments – the Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri governments.
“We must not allow Bersatu spin-doctors and fraudsters to now rewrite history by denying that there was a Sheraton Move political conspiracy in February 2020 and to cleanse Muhyiddin Yassin and Azmin Ali of their historic sin by claiming that the DAP was plotting to topple Dr Mahathir as PH prime minister,” Lim added.