Kuching: DAP Sarawak Stampin Branch has issued a statement criticising recent remarks by leaders of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), clarifying the fundamental issue at hand and preventing the public from being misled.
“By Wilfred Yap’s logic, so long as no court order has been issued, a person who knowingly possesses stolen money is free to keep it.
“Such reasoning suggests that action is taken only when legally compelled, not because of any sense of moral responsibility or ethical judgment. This line of reasoning is fundamentally flawed,” the statement said.
According to the statement, that is a deeply troubling position, especially when adopted by a political party that seeks public trust.
“The issue before SUPP is not merely what the law compels, but what integrity demands. The present discussion is not about initiating new legal proceedings, nor about whether an additional court order exists.
“It concerns a basic question of right and wrong. When funds have now been judicially established to be linked to 1MDB, continuing to rely on legal technicalities or the absence of a court order to justify inaction represents a deliberate evasion of moral responsibility,” said the statement.
In the statement, DAP Sarawak Stampin Branch also emphasised that, as a political party and a public institution, SUPP ought to uphold standards far higher than the bare minimum required by law.
“Political integrity cannot be reduced to doing only what one is forced to do. It requires the ability to distinguish right from wrong and to act responsibly once the facts are clear.
“True leadership is not measured by how long one can evade responsibility but by the willingness to do what is right even when it is difficult. If SUPP chooses legality over morality, it only reinforces the perception that the party is not guided by principle or ethical judgment,” the statement said.
The DAP Sarawak Stampin Branch further warned that refusing to take responsibility after the nature of the funds had been judicially established, SUPP reveals a position driven not by integrity, but by self-interest.
“Such conduct undermines public confidence in the political system and falls short of the moral standards expected of any political party,” added the statement.
The branch concluded by stating that its remarks were not intended as political rhetoric but as a call for ethical accountability, asserting that leadership requires moral courage in addition to adherence to the law.
