Guan Eng stays mum on foreword in pro-China comic book

(FMT) – DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today declined to comment on his foreword in a pro-China comic book which stirred controversy after its distribution as reference material to school libraries.

He told reporters at the Parliament lobby that it was better for him not to make comments that could be construed as interference, although he did not deny writing the foreword.

“I think the investigation on the writer is still ongoing, so until that is done, I don’t want to say anything,” he added.

“We don’t want to be seen as abusing our power, so let the law do its work first.”

This is the first time that Lim, who is also the finance minister, has spoken about the controversy.

DAP has repeatedly denied involvement in the book, “Belt & Road Initiative for Win-Winism”. However, former prime minister Najib Razak shared a screenshot last Monday of the foreword in which Lim had congratulated the author, former DAP man Hew Kuan Yau, for explaining the initiative in a “simple and easy to understand manner”.

The 164-page comic book drew criticism after news that 2,500 copies in Bahasa Malaysia were distributed to school libraries.

Hew has been questioned by the police several times while the home ministry has banned the comic book for promoting communism and socialism.

The police, meanwhile, are working with historians to check the accuracy of historical facts in the book.