KOTA KINABALU: The internal leadership crisis besetting Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has taken a turn for the worst with both camps installing their own padlocks to the party’s headquarters entrance.
LDP secretary general Loretto S Padua Jr yesterday said that he was informed by the Executive Office that a group of LDP members led by the suspended deputy president Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin, had installed padlocks on the grille of the entrance and this prevented the staff from entering the premises.
Chin who has been removed and suspended by the Presidential Council on August 31, locked the grille entrance to the party’s office during lunch hours and did not allow the staff to re-enter the office when they returned from lunch, Loretto said in a statement.
“However, I am told that they re-opened the grille which they locked with their own padlock when the party’s stalwart rebuked them for doing things illegal. Despite that, the leaders of the mutiny told the office that they will lock the grille again today at 5pm when the staff leave for home and they will only open it at 8pm tomorrow morning.
“This is done in bad faith, especially when they know that the president will have a divisional meeting with his committee there tonight. I had informed the police about this and if the locks are there tonight, I will force it open in the presence of the police.
“I had also been informed by former LDP Youth chief Chin Su Yin that they had changed the locking system code to disallow anyone not aligned to them to enter the office. This is like a daylight robbery. They are acting like robbers. They had entered the office illegally and they will be held responsible for any loss of documents or information, and any damage therein,” he said.
Loretto is of the opinion that Chin must not take the law into his own hand.
Please lead by example and don’t act like a bully, is his advice to Chin.
In Loretto’s opinion, what Chin has done is very unbecoming of a senator because he has been talking about the law and the party’s constitution in the last two weeks but it does not appear that he understands any.
“He should know by now that I am the secretary general of the party and I am responsible for the proper administration, management and control of the party headquarters. This is stated very clearly in Rule 1 of the By-Laws of LDP. (Standing Orders and Rules) 1989. I suggest he seeks legal advice without further delay and not making up his own interpretation of the laws.
“Datuk Teo Chee Kang, a minister as well as a lawyer, should be in a better position to advise Senator Datuk Chin and the rest of the group about the fine points of laws and their positions in the party’s constitution.
“This honourable Minister of Special Functions told the world last Friday that he had filed an action in court. Up until today, no court papers have been served on me as the party’s public officer. Is he changing his mind again?” Loretto asked.