REPLY TO DR
CHANDRA'S ALLEGATIONS
I can understand
Dr. Chandra having to respond in the way he did. He has no choice otherwise he
will have to resign from the party. He sounds like a desperate man.
1. I did not send
my letter of the 13th January to Malaysiakini and was surprised when they rang
to get confirmation whether I wrote such a letter. It was only after they faxed
to me their copy that I confirmed I had written it in January and had sent a copy
to Datin Seri Wan Azizah together with my resignation letter of the 18th May
2000. In that letter I had already dealt with the issues and allegations made
against me by Dr Chandra and his supporters particularly on "toppling the
President". This issue originally came up when Datuk Seri Anwar applied to
be a member of Keadilan. Initially he had clearly indicated he wanted to remain
neutral as he was the acknowledged leader of the BA coalition. As a result of
questions from the grassroots as to why he was not a member of Keadilan as they
had joined because of him, he finally agreed, after much persuasion, to be a
member of Keadilan. There was discussion at the MPT Keadilan on the merits of
whether he should be offered the post of President or Advisor. I expressed the
opinion that if he was made a member of Keadilan he should be offered the post
of President otherwise he should stay out of the party and remain neutral.
Unfortunately those who took this stand has been branded as being the group who
wants to "topple" Wan Azizah and has been used ever since by Dr.
Chandra and his cronies to undermine me and to give wrong feedback to Datin
Seri Wan Azizah . It culminated in my final resignation on 18th May 2000. Now
for the first time Dr. Chandra has come out in the open on this accusation. At
least it confirms the fact that all along he has been using his cronies to
attack me on this issue whilst he continued to play the "sweet and
innocent" role. His press statement does not address the issues I have raised
and it just confirms the truth. His wild and baseless statement and calling me
a liar does not change the truth of the issues raised.
2. There have been
several instances when Dr.Chandra lost his temper and I have witnesses who are
prepared to testify to this fact. It may be convenient for some people to
"forget" the incident or deny it. The proposal by Dr. Chandra to
"discipline me" was clearly stated in the minutes of the meeting made
in my absence to which I was not called and of which I still have the records.
I have attended much more than three meetings, contrary to what Dr. Chandra is
alleging and have the records to confirm this too. Many meetings were
deliberately called when I was away, or attending my court case in Butterworth.
They were called at very short notice (in these most instances less than 24
hours were given and every time when I was out of town or in Butterworth).
3. I have copies of
all the relevant documents to substantiate my allegations and witnesses to all
the incidents and issues raised in my letter of the 13th January. Dr. Chandra
in his long winded 11- page letter has twisted the truth and accused me of the
things he is the one guilty of. As I have no wish to turn the media into, a
courthouse to wash dirty linen in public, I will not bother with the details
and will not dwell on it any longer.
I can appreciate
Keadilan's leaders being reluctant to respond to this issue. That should be so.
To speak out even in defence, would be detrimental to the party. The media
favouring the Barisan Nasional obviously will be exploiting this issue to their
advantage. Unfortunately Dr. Chandra is deliberately playing into their hands.
I have no intention of wasting any more time on Dr. Chandra and on this matter.
As far as party
Keadilan is concerned, no one is indispensable. The party was started on the
strength of the people and will carry on with its strength from the grassroots
without Dr. Chandra or me. The strength of Keadilan lies not with its leaders
but with its supporters and I believe it is these people who will carry on the
fight for justice until we attain victory.
HAJJAH MARINA
YUSOFF
10th July 2000