The Bagan MP revealed that when opposition leader and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim told his MPs who had been induced to defect to stand firm, two of them replied: “I am not strong like Guan Eng.”
He said it was wrong of them to say this as it could also imply that they were not strong like him in willing to put his wife through such a harrowing experience.
Lim said he was “saddened” that he had been used as an example for what could happen if one does not submit to political pressure, with him and his wife, Betty Chew, charged earlier by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for corruption.
“The charges against me and my wife are unprecedented in that not a single sen of gratification was found in my possession, as cash or in my or my wife’s bank account.
“There was no audio recording of me ever asking for any money for my personal benefit,” he said.
On Thursday, Anwar had said that in addition to Sekijang MP Natrah Ismail, four more PKR MPs had been pressured to switch allegiances, claiming the MACC was being used as a political weapon.
“If you jump (parties), the probe will be postponed. Otherwise, you will be targeted,” Anwar said, detailing the threats made.
Lim also heaped credit onto his wife, who he said had suffered far more from the charges than he had, with her legal career curtailed by the “trumped-up charges” laid against the pair.
“I am strong not because I am Guan Eng. I am strong because my wife gave me the strength to do so.”
He said many people had witnessed the emotional trauma his wife had to endure, adding that he was grateful for her strength and love for him and standing up together with him against such selective prosecution by the government.
“There is no room for politics of treachery or vengeance, especially against innocent family members.
“Only then can we instil public confidence in accountability and transparency that there is political will and commitment to combat corruption without fear or favour.”
Lim will face trial in June over charges of corruption involving the Penang undersea tunnel project, while Chew has been charged with money-laundering offences.