He said his stand on the matter remained the same and DAP members were free to receive honorifics at the end of their political careers.
On the issue of Melaka DAP assemblymen receiving Datukships, he said it was “extraordinary” that the state’s chief minister had not received any titles but the assemblymen were awarded the honorifics.
“We should not be crazy over Datukships. We should not be chasing after Datukships, but instead, we should be chasing the rakyat to help them.
“Do your work first. Better for us to prioritise service over state honours and titles. If you do not like what the secretary-general is saying, then it is up to you to carry on. But why are other parties meddling in our party matters?
“That is why I say it is clear that PAS is playing racial sentiments when what I had said had nothing to do with disrespecting the royalty.
“It is an unreasonable comment and clearly a form of hate, extremist politics peddled by PAS,” Lim said in a reply to a delegate’s question on DAP members accepting Datukships at the Penang DAP’s ordinary convention here today.
Lim said a good example of what he preached were the three former Penang reps who quit active politics earlier this year and received their Datukships. The three were Lim Hock Seng, Law Heng Kiang and A Tanasekharan.
He said the latest attack against him was part of a concerted effort by the opposition parties Umno and PAS who were bent on pitting Malays against Pakatan Harapan.
Yesterday, Perak PAS commissioner Rasman Zakaria said DAP’s decision not to accept any titles or honours was a snub to the royalty.
The Gunung Semanggol assemblyman questioned Lim’s decision that party members should not accept honorifics.
At the Himpunan Perpaduan Ummah di Kampung Gajah, in Pasir Salak, Perak, he said Malays were the “tuan” (masters) of the country and other races were bound by a social contract affirming the status of the Malays in the country.
On Oct 13, two Melaka DAP assemblymen, Tey Kok Kiew and Wong Fort Pin, received Datukships from the governor. It was also reported that Sabah ministers from the DAP, Stephen Wong and Frankie Poon, had received Datukships as well.
On the protests planned by PAS and Umno to object to the plan to ratify an international convention on ending racial discrimination, Lim said it was best left to the prime minister to handle the matter.
“Let us not add unnecessarily to this,” he said, warning against hate politics peddled by the opposition and several news outlets pandering to them.