(Bernama) - DAP national chairman Karpal Singh said the allegation that the party is getting foreign funds from George Soros was uncalled for.
"Where is the evidence that the DAP is getting foreign funds?" he said when asked about several Malaysian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Suaram having obtained foreign funds to destabilize the government.
On the claim that the DAP was also linked to the foreign funds, Karpal said: "DAP does not get foreign funds."
Speaking to reporters here today, he said most organizations received foreign funds but this was nothing wrong as long as they were declared and not illegal.
"In fact a lot of countries get foreign aid from other countries like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for example. Do you think it is a criminal offence?" he said.
Several local NGOs were in the limelight recently after Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry called on the registrar of societies to investigate Suaram which received funds from Soros.
On a separate matter, Karpal said it was not necessary for the Penang chief minister to be a Penang-born as claimed by former DAP vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim.
"Lim Kit Siang has connection in the state of Penang for a long time. The Lim family has residence here. No doubt Lim Guan Eng was born in Batu Pahat, but his connection with Penang is sufficient for him to be the right choice for the chief minister," he said.
Tunku Aziz yesterday said that the Penang chief minister should be a local instead of a politician parachuted into the state from elsewhere and suggested that state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow be chosen to lead the new state government as chief minister.
On Tunku Aziz's comments that the DAP national chairman was sometimes sidelined, Karpal said he accepted his opinion, however, it was not right and without basis.
"In the DAP, unlike the other parties, it is the secretary-general who is the most important, but that does not mean the chairman is sidelined," he added.
