Its executive director Cynthia Gabriel said the NGO was “troubled” that Lim had been appointed as finance minister despite Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad saying the DAP secretary-general could only be appointed after he had been cleared of the charges against him.
“While there is no question about Lim’s suitability for the candidacy, it raises questions about how Pakatan Harapan (PH) is pushing his appointment through,” she said.
In a statement, Cynthia acknowledged that there was no legal provision to prevent Lim’s appointment pending his corruption case, but noted that there were good governance principles which underlay the importance of Mahathir’s earlier statement.
“Public officials must uphold full accountability for their actions, and corruption must be completely absent.
“How can this be neglected with the newly minted Cabinet and especially the leadership of the finance ministry at stake?”
Cynthia said PH needed to “walk the talk” of systemic reform, and that Malaysia needed clean and honest leaders.
She said the rule of law and due process in clearing Lim must be “uncompromisingly” followed, before he is made finance minister.
In this respect, Cynthia said, the attorney-general’s office must treat Lim’s case with the greatest urgency and the highest priority.
“We also urge greater transparency about the process between the prime minister and the attorney-general’s office to instil confidence in the public sphere that no strings were pulled, demonstrating that due process was adhered to, despite the urgency.”
Earlier today, PAS called on Lim to face trial to prove that he is innocent of the corruption charges levelled against him during his time as chief minister of Penang.
This came after Lim’s counsel, Ramkarpal Singh, said they would file a new representation on the charges in the belief that they were politically motivated.
Ramkarpal also said the defence would propose that the charges be dropped.
“Of course, if the attorney-general takes over and decides to continue with the case, we will continue with it. There is no problem,” he said.
In 2016, Lim was charged with using his public office to obtain gratification for himself and his wife by approving an application by Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd to convert agricultural land for residential purposes.
Lim was also alleged to have used his position to obtain gratification by purchasing a bungalow from businesswoman Phang Li Koon at below the market price. Phang was charged with abetting him.
Representation to AG ‘nothing to do with politics’, says Ramkarpal