Tony Pua said today he was “heartbroken” by the actions of party turncoat Amran Ahmad who he had brought in after the latter alleged that DAP is distributing malicious and slanderous propaganda material in the run-up to the election.
Pua, who is DAP national publicity secretary, also revealed that Amran was not considered to contest for Pakatan Harapan despite heavy lobbying, suggesting that his action may have been a result of that.
“I am heartbroken by Amran Ahmad’s betrayal and deny in full the preposterous allegations he made against the party,” Pua said in a statement.
Pua detailed how leaflets and flyers brought up by Amran were done by the party to present claims of alleged corrupt practices by the ruling coalition.
“There is nothing malicious in these publicly available materials which the party printed and published.
“There is nothing racist or religiously inflammatory in nature as he has alleged,” Pua said.
This follows a press conference held by Amran on Sunday after lodging a police report, where he claimed DAP would be distributing thousands of materials with slander against Barisan Nasional (BN) and caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Amran, the son of former DAP leader Ahmad Nor, had then gone on to say he felt the party’s publicity department had deviated from its original purpose and denied being paid or coerced into making the revelation.
Pua expressed further disappointment in Amran after the latter purportedly lobbied to party members in hopes of being considered as a candidate.
“Unfortunately, it appears that greed and impatience have once again gripped him,” said the incumbent MP.
“Unknown to me, he had lobbied other party leaders, including Lim Guan Eng and Teresa Kok to be considered a candidate for the current general election.”
Pua went on to claim Amran’s failure in securing a seat this election and possible enticement by political opponents had led him to stab the party in the back.
“I feel terribly sorry for both his wife and the widow of the late Ahmad Nor,” he said.
Pua detailed how he had decided to hire Amran, a former MalaysiaKini journalist, despite reservations against him by other party members.
“I had believed that he was a reformed man and that he was serious about honouring his father’s legacy, and joined the DAP Publicity Department officially in August 2017.
“Amran’s treacherous betrayal with unbelievable lies about the party and me left me both shocked and heartbroken,” he added. – Malay Mail