He said Ismail has a second test ahead to follow through on the landmark decision by the Sarawak High Court in Kuching ordering the government and Election Commission (EC) to implement the Undi18 law by the end of the year.
Lim said Ismail’s tweet has reinforced confidence that he will uphold the rule of law and principles of good governance, adding that it has brightened the prospects of a confidence-supply-reform agreement between the government and opposition.
“I’m saddened and appalled by this incident. Nobody is above the law. Justice must, and will take its course. Thank you YB for your concern,” Ismail Sabri wrote on Twitter.
Lim said the tweet was in reply to DAP’s Ipoh Barat MP M Kula Segaran thanking him for his concern over the death of security guard S Thava Sagayam, who was assaulted at a condominium in Ipoh last December.
“I had said that Thava’s case will be a test of the new prime minister’s commitment to the rule of law and an end to the Dua Darjat (double-standards) in the country. If Ismail follows through with his tweet, he will have passed this test.”
Thava was attacked by a guest who had rented a unit at the condominium for the weekend. He had reportedly tried to stop the guest from letting his son into the children’s swimming pool at the condominium, as it was against the SOP under Covid-19. Thava died last week, some eight months after the incident.
On the Undi18 decision, Lim urged the government not to appeal as Ismail along with 10 other ministers and four deputy ministers in the present Cabinet had voted on June 16, 2019 to lower the voting age to 18 years, and implement automatic registration of voters.
“Surely, we cannot have a situation where the prime minister, ministers, and deputy ministers can say one thing in Parliament just two years ago when they were in the opposition and forget about the same law they voted for when they are in government.”
He reminded Ismail that he was the opposition leader during the debate then and had supported the changes in his speech, adding the government must now be true and loyal to what he had said.
Lim, who is Iskandar Puteri MP, said if the EC cannot implement automatic registration of voters after 30 months, then it needs a new chairman who is more competent and IT-savvy.